Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, the Director-General (D-G) of the Ghana Education Service (GES), has called for a deliberate shift towards an education system that combines knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values needed to empower young learners in the rapidly changing technological world.

He stated that education must move beyond classroom academic achievements to one that transformed the 21st century learners into responsible citizens capable of applying their knowledge and skills for the benefit of themselves and society.

He made the call at the 52nd Annual Conference of the Conference of Managers of Education Units (COMEU), held in Takoradi.

It was under the theme: “Faith-based education in the 21st century: Challenges, opportunities and the way forward.”

It provided a platform for COMEU members and other stakeholders in education to discuss strategies to strengthen partnership, and devise ways to improve upon learning outcomes in mission schools across the country.

Prof. Davis said faith-based institutions had played a historic role in Ghana’s educational development through establishing schools, training teachers, and promoting values including honesty, respect, empathy, service and accountability.

He, however, said the changing educational environment, driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), social media, globalisation, and other technological factors required faith-based institutions to rethink how they prepared learners.

The GES D-G said while, AI presented significant opportunities to improve upon teaching, learning, and school’s administration, it also came with risks; including misinformation, inappropriate contents, and other harmful influences.

Prof. Davis said: “We see that AI which is driven by data and machine learning and others have made the world a global village. That is good for us, but the trouble it has brought is the influx of foreign culture in the name of modernity.

“This has resulted in growing indiscipline among students, and both teaching and non-teaching staff, and these are real threats that we must work around to ensure technology becomes a blessing and not a curse.”

He, therefore, called for a balance between AI and Human Intelligence (HI), noting that technological competence must be grounded in ethics and strong values-based education.

The GES D-G further noted that the responsibility for shaping children’s character extended beyond the classroom, as learners were constantly influenced by their homes, communities, and traditional and social media.

Prof Davis called for stronger collaboration between the government and faith-based education units to strengthen teacher development, embrace innovation, protect children, and promote quality education with character among students.

Prof. Ebenezer Boakye, the Pro Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the Takoradi Technical University (TTU), said possessing knowledge and technical skills without the right attitudes could undermine the very society education was intended to serve.

He urged education managers to reclaim values such as discipline, integrity, diligence, respect, compassion and service, while adapting them to the realities of the 21st century.

Mr Joseph Nelson, the Western Regional Minister, said faith-based education remained an important partner in Ghana’s development, given its historic contribution to the country’s education system.

He called for stronger collaboration between the government, faith-based organisations, teachers, parents, communities and other stakeholders to prepare young people to understand their world, discover their potential, develop sound values, and contribute meaningfully to society.

He said: “The ultimate objective must be to produce young people who are academically competent, morally grounded, technologically capable, and socially responsible.”

Mr Nelson stated that the future of Ghana would be determined largely by the quality of education provided to the present generation.