A senior Lecturer at the Department of Religious Studies of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Rev. Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, has called for disciplinary measures that would prevent the nurturing of intellectual criminals in the country.
One of such measures, he said, should be the reintroduction of the Presbyterian type of discipline in basic and senior high schools, as well as at the tertiary level.
That, according to him, had become necessary because intelligent criminals were not the best for nation-building.
Rev. Dr Opuni-Frimpong made the observation when he delivered a lecture in memory of the late Rev. Dr Benson Nkansa-Kyeremateng, a former principal of the Presbyterian College of Education at Kibi in the Eastern Region.
Rev. Dr Nkansa-Kyeremateng was noted for the disciplinary measures he introduced into the college.
In attendance were staff and management of the college, some directors of education, some basic school teachers, parents and the clergy, among others.
Speaking on the theme: “Presbyterian Discipline: Critical Tool for Reshaping the Youth for Ghana’s Socio-Economic Development”, he said in the past, pupils and students in Presbyterian educational institutions were imbibed with discipline associated with the Presbyterian Church.
He explained that the Presbyterian discipline was the moral principle the Basel Mission used in church, public and private life.
“You don’t do the right thing because somebody is watching you but do the right thing because you think it is right. People must do what is right because they know is right,” the senior lecturer stated. That, he said, made it possible for the pupils and students to grow up to be useful citizens who eschewed all forms of negative tendencies such as bribery and corruption and that enabled society to progress.
“We are losing the moral consciousness in our public and private lives and the young ones coming out of school should be imbibed with these principles,” he added.
Rev. Dr Opuni-Frimpong, who is also a former General Secretary of the Christian Council, said it was unfortunate that any person put in public places either looked for favours or demanded to be given something before performing such functions.
That, he indicated, was alien to scholars imbibed with the Presbyterian type of discipline, which must be revisited to fine-tune leaders of the country.
He said for a start, people must be conscious of what they did and that could only be accomplished if they were highly disciplined.
Intelligent criminals
He indicated that education without moral and spiritual values normally produced intelligent criminals and that was why many criminals were manipulating the system of the country today.
According to Rev. Dr Opuni-Frimpong discipline had a history when the missionaries came and decided to use moral principles for church members at homes, schools and their established hospitals.
Rev. Dr Opuni-Frimpong stated that the critical tools that the country needed immediately were to shape the youth for socio-economic development and that, conduct and behaviour in public service must be a national priority.
Solved problems
The Principal of the Kibi Presbyterian College of Education, Rev. Charles Fosu-Ayarkwah, said revisiting the Presbyterian discipline would help the Ghanaian youth and the youth of the world to be reshaped to pave the way for socio-economic development.
The Chairman of the Governing Board of the Kibi Presbyterian College of Education, Emmanuel Victor Oware Dankwa, who chaired the occasion, said the Presbyterian Church valued discipline so much and that the time had come for the country to emulate it immediately to solve problems.
He urged the students to uphold the values of Presbyterian discipline wherever they find themselves.