She said the Presbyterian principles of education was firmly rooted in the spirit of Protestantism which “upholds the centrality of the word of God, discipline, hard work, integrity, morality and democratic principles” and must, therefore, be inculcated in all children who passed through a Presbyterian institution.

Mrs Owusu, who was addressing an annual review meeting of heads of Presbyterian schools in Koforidua, said those principles were in line with the Code of Conduct and education policy of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and, therefore, very relevant to the cause of education in Ghana.

She said some heads of Presbyterian schools refused to adhere to those principles and cautioned them to do the right thing to “bring back that famous Presbyterian discipline in the system.”

Mrs Owusu said education required that key stakeholders agreed on principles that could sustain quality education delivery and its consequent positive outcomes, hence the need to adhere to the principles of both the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and the GES.        

She said the standard of education and its outcomes as far as the Basic Education Certificate Examination was concerned had fallen considerably and urged the heads to put in efforts to identify the problems and resolve them improve performance.

She advised the heads to form learning communities in their various districts to share ideas and treat the children under their care as their own.