Former Vice Chancellor for the University of Cape Coast, Prof. George K.T. Oduro has admonished Ghana's national identity and values to be fast dying off due to citizenry's sectional interests and unflinching commitment to affiliated political parties other than their mother land.

Speaking at the 40th anniversary of Creator Schools in Tema, the Professor of Educational Leadership notified to be a challenge of diminishing national character orientation among young people who passes through the country's school system.

He identified that taking a critical look at the lyrics of Ghana's national anthem and patriotic songs, one will easily note that communal spirit and nationalism emerge key indicators of national character to all Ghanaians. But unfortunately, the state currently finds itself in an environment where sectional interests, largely pivoted around partisan commitment is fast killing its national identity and values.

The UCC Professor resented over the fact that the spirit of patriotism is gradually evading indigenes of the country as majority of Ghanaians now commit themselves more to partisan and other sectional interests than national interests, whereas, others even ignore the national anthem when been played.

He bemoaned that the value of one destiny which binds the people together as Ghanaians and the spirit of mutual support are fast dwindling through selfishness, divisive tendencies, corrupt practices, indiscipline, and others making systems dysfunctional which all requires immediate redress.

"Indeed, as the 2011 Jakarta Declaration in Indonesia articulates, ‘If wealth is lost, nothing is lost, if health is lost, something is lost but if character is lost, everything is lost’. To stem this trend, our educational system, particularly at the foundational learning phase, has a critical role to play," the affable educationalist noted.

Prof. K.T. Oduro again issued out to the Ministry of Education (MoE) that isolating basic education for quality without ensuring quality at the Senior High School level undermines the benefits associated with secondary education.

He opined to find it strange that calls on the MoE to review the current mode of implementing the Free Senior High School (FSHS) to ensure quality and equity-indexed education has become a political issue with review being unfathomably interpreted as cancellation.

Source//Sompaonline.com/Eric Annan