Anglican Bishop of Egbu, Rt. Rev Geoffrey Okorafor has counseled the Imo State Government to consider reinstating handwork in primary school system in the State. He also advised the State to reinstitute history in State Secondary School curriculum.
Bishop Okorafor who made the call during a Eucharistic service of confirmation, admission and induction for Ohekelem Parish at St. Matthew’s Church Ohekelem, in Ngor Okpala LGA, Imo State further urged for a revisit of the posting of teachers to both urban and rural areas. He posited that these shortcomings in the school system were clogs in the progress of education in the State.
The Bishop decried situation where some subjects have no teachers at all in the rural areas whereas teachers were concentrated in urban schools with five or more teachers assigned to one subject, especially the core subjects of Mathematics, English and sciences. He charged government to engage the services of more professional teachers with bias in education to ensure that the imbalances in Urban/ Rural school teacher ratio were addressed. The Bishop regretted that primary schools no longer engage in handwork preferring to have pupils pay cash instead, so much that most pupils do not understand what constituted handworks, whereas the study of history has gone oblivion and the root and their heritage virtually lost. Bishop opined that it was imperative that the study of history was reintroduced in the State as it would allow students know the history of the State as well as knowledge of the past and how the past relate to the present, nationally and globally.
To the confirmation candidates he urged them to desist from being cultist as they were putting themselves under the wrath of God if after the laying of hand by the Bishop in the cause of their confirmation they engage themselves in cultism.
The Bishop thanked God for the grace to assemble for another confirmation service two years after the previous visit in 2017.
He commended the Vicar, Rev Canon Kenneth Oparada, his wife Mrs. Benneta Oparada, and Church workers in the Parish for their commitment in the preparation of the various candidates. He commend the congregation for supporting the vicar/ Church workers in being able to present candidates for the five arms of the Church.
He observed that they were shouting hosanna and applauding their vicar and cautioned them against shooting crucify Him later enjoining to sustain the support. He said he was overwhelmed when he saw seven candidates presented for admission into the Christian Men’s Fellowship (CMF), an indication that the parish has not failed the expectations of the Diocese as leaders in the CMF family. He was also full of praises for the choir for the anthem they presented and to show his appreciation adopted the choir as the Bishop’s group, promising to invite the choir to a function in the Bishop’s Court.
Bishop’s Chaplain, Rev Canon Iheanyi Eneremadu in his sermon earlier, Matt 25:34 urged faithful to be conscious of the impending judgment when Christ would come to separate the righteous and the unrighteous. He assured them that from birth they were destined for heaven as they undertake their journey on earth so long as they were humble and obedient. He further advised that they should be mindful of how they relate with others, ensuring that they reached out to the less privileged in their midst, so that they do not end up being identified as selfish and flushed out before Jesus Christ on the judgment day.
