He said the free SHS policy introduced by government is one of the best policies to reduce the financial burden on some parents and pave way for underprivileged students to gain access to secondary education.

Bishop Dr Buabeng Odoom made this known, when he addressed the Media after the Centenary Anniversary launch of the Ebenezer Methodist Church at Ekwamkrom, in the Gomoa Central District of the Central region.

The year-long activity programme was under the theme” Hundred Years of Discipleship, the impact on the Society. Sustaining our Gains in Community Development“. Bishop Dr Odoom said opposition parties have the right to criticize government over the policy, but it must be constructive to ensure a free for all education, rather than attempting to stagnate the laudable programme.

He said it would be improper for some Ghanaian children, who sat for Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to be left out because of the increasing number of students who would enter SHS in September 2018.

He urged the government to come out with a policy document on the Free SHS in order to sustain its long term implementation for the benefit of all Ghanaian children. The Bishop of Winneba Diocese said education was a panacea to poverty reduction and human development and urged all Ghanaians to throw their weight behind the government for the policy to work.

On the demand by Churches for government to hand over mission schools back to them, Bishop Dr Odoom said majority of the schools were established by Churches in the olden days, which helped to instil moral value and discipline into the students.  He said Churches have a role to play in ensuring the provision of structures, teaching materials and others for the schools to facilitate quality teaching and learning, adding that, the churches can also assist to develop the educational sector.

The Winneba Diocese Bishop urged members of the Gomoa Ekwamkrom Ebenezer Methodist Church to build upon what their forefathers left over 100 years ago by establishing more branches of the Church.

According to Bishop Dr Odoom the forefathers who brought Methodist Church to Ekwamkrom and its environs sacrificed in the areas of energy, funds, time and others to ensure the growth of the church.

The Dr Odoom praised Mr Kwamena Onumah, of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Sefwi Wiaso District Manager, who has assisted the church in the areas of education, health, planting of churches, organizational skills and others at Gomoa Ekwamkrom and Winneba.

He said Mr Onumah was the first Ghanaian Guilder, an organization in the Methodist Church Ghana, to be invited by the British Methodist Church for a Holiday Camp in Leeds, after the organization’s centenary celebration in 1999, due to his hard work and dedication to the church.

Dr Edmond Ekow Kaitoo, Chairman of the Centenary Anniversary Planning Committee said, the year-long programme of activities would include the establishment of churches, outreach programmes, clean-up exercises and talk shows on the 100 years on radios and other social media.

He said the planning committee intends to build an educational complex for the Methodist Schools at Gomoa Ekwamkrom to facilitate quality teaching and learning.