Catholic church restates call for return of schools to original owners

For the umpteenth time, the Catholic Church has lamented the falling standard of education in the country and restated calls for the handing over of schools to their original owners.

The group noted that prior to the taking over of the schools by the government in the mid 70s, the educational system was doing well and maintained that the only panacea to address the trend was for the government to let go.

Rising from the National Conference of the National Association of Catholic Directors, Secretaries of Education (NACDDED) in Calabar, the National Chairman, Rev. Fr. Richard Omolade declared that the collapse of discipline at all levels of our national life coupled with the utter decay in our society was due to the maladjustment in the nation’s educational system when government took over and the focus shifted to conveyor belt system of mass production instead of quality”.

The three-day conference which had as its theme Catholic Education: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – The Way Forward was hosted by the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Calabar Archdiocese, Most Rev Joseph Ekuwem.

The Association said Catholic education must also strive to preserve her identity as a faith based educational enterprise.

In its 11-point communique, the church frowned at government policies that tend to lump everybody together, demanding uniformity, which they said precludes creativity and uniqueness.

“Catholic education today must be structured as to prepare people not just for now, but for the future. Critical thinking skills must be an integral part of that education such that our students are helped to think critically and problems can be solved in their unique varieties.”