Government Values Partnership With The Church - Okudzeto Ablakwa

Government will continue to partner the church to speed up the pace of development and to ensure stability, Deputy Minister of Education Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Global Theological Seminary and launch of an Endowment Fund for the Institute, Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa said government remained resolute in keeping the partnership between the state and the church.

“We need to strengthen the partnership between the state and church and where there are differences government is willing to use the necessary dialogue to resolve them,” he said.

The Theological Seminary (GTS) started in 1991 as a response to the call to recruit and train pastors for the numerous congregations of the then E.P. Church of Ghana (now Global Evangelical Church) that were left without pastors during the split in the E.P Church, Ghana.

Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa urged the leadership of the Global Evangelical Church to continue to teach and preach the unadulterated word of God for the necessary change in the lives of the lost people.

He said false religious teachings, not based on sound doctrine, are leading to extremism and religious intolerance in most parts of the world.

Mr Ablakwa lauded the Church’s decision to establish its University College at Battor in the Volta Region, saying the overconcentration of private universities in Accra did not augur well for the development of the entire country.

In this direction, he said, the National Accreditation Board (NAB) is developing a policy which will streamline the siting of universities in Accra.

He said while government was not against the siting of universities in Accra, there was the need to spread to the other regions to make tertiary education accessible to all.
 
The Moderator of the Global Evangelical Church Rt. Rev. Dr. Edem Tettey said there is a strategic plan to transform the seminary to a University with three colleges-the GTS, a college of Science and Technology and a College of Art and Social Sciences.

“I can assure you that its programme of study shall respond to the needs of society with emphasis on evangelical Christian values. These values include integrity of heart and credibility in all actions, culture of excellence, accountability, equality of all persons and relevance,” he said.

He said the GTS was required by the National Accreditation Board to have an endowment fund set up to serve as a backbone of the University project and it is in this direction that the Church is setting up an initial GH¢800,000.00 fund. 

The former Rector of GIMPA, Professor Stephen Adei, who was the guest speaker urged Ghanaians to help the government to succeed.

He said it was the responsibility of every citizen to work for the good of the country.

Prof Adei said persons admitted to be trained as pastors should be of good character and ready to serve as well as preach the word of God to bring salvation to the people.

He said this called for proper research into the character of students before admitting them and urged the leadership of the seminary not to concentrate on academic qualifications alone but also used experienced pastors to mentor the pastor trainees.

He said the country needs a crop of people who will be transformational leaders, adding that personal spirituality would be ultimate.

Rt. Rev. Dr. Christian Gbekor, Rector, GTS, said currently, the Global Theological Seminary was affiliated with the Trinity Theological Seminary (TTS), Legon.

The Seminary currently offers the following courses: Diploma in Theology – Regular/Modular, Certificate in Theology—Regular, Certificate in Christian Ministry and Certificate in Missions and Evangelism.

Others are Certificate in Counselling, Certificate in Preaching and Certificate in Church Music.

Plans are afoot to start non-theological certificate programmes in Business Management, Information Communication Technology, Basic Education, Veterinary Technicianship, Project Management, Agribusiness and many other disciplines to meet the ever increasing demand for relevant and market-driven education required by the Ghanaian youth and populace at large as the Seminary strives towards the attainment of a full university status.

Source: GNA