The Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Coast, the Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, has stressed the need for the Ghanaian education system to be designed to ensure total human development.
That, he said, would let the Ghanaian youth become future masters of their environment and globally competitive.
"I believe that if education has to fulfill its purpose of making a holistic human being, five virtues, namely, obedience (and self-discipline), wisdom, stature, the favour of God, and the love of one's neighbour, should form the pillars of our educational system, " he said.
Most Rev. Palmer-Buckle made the remarks when he took his turn as a human book to be read by students, drawn from some second-cycle institutions in Cape Coast and the University of Cape Coast (UCC), at the fourth edition of the Human Library initiative by the Sam Jonah Library-UCC.
The Human Library is a scientific service in libraries across the globe designed to build a positive framework for conversations through dialogue. It is a library where a person, instead of a book, is borrowed to listen to life stories. The goal is to understand the different journeys taken in life and how to navigate an experience one encounters.
Most Rev. Palmer-Buckle addressing his readers
The Most Rev. Palmer-Buckle, speaking on the topic, "Influence of Spirituality on Academic Performance", said obedience was the first ingredient for any quality enterprise in education, as character formation was the basic goal of education.
“To develop the students, the spirit of obedience, which leads to self-discipline, must be imbibed to enhance their lives' self-control drive.”
He urged academics to move away from the Ivory Tower and rather be visible models of obedience and self-discipline in all spheres of life, pointing out that the ingredient of obedience was missing in today's society.
He advised the students to grow up in stature, which he said was to grow up to be healthy, physically sound human beings. In other words, a healthy mind can dwell in a healthy body."
According to the Archbishop, education should not only lead to good grades obtained in class but also spiritual fortitude necessary to guide one through life.
He charged parents and guardians to help their children fulfill the purpose of God in their lives.
"When we talk about spirituality, every child has a purpose that the Lord has created for him or her and yours is to help the child fulfill what God has planned for him or her," he added.
Some readers at the human library session
For her part, the Head of the Department of Client Services at the Sam Jonah Library, Dr. Gloria Tachie-Donkor, in a remark said the Human Library Forum was to ensure that students know the life of experienced persons in society so they take a leaf out of their lives.
The event was chaired by Prof. Rofela Combey of the Department of Conservation Biology and Entomology, who represented the Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong.
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC