NDC introduced CSE in 2015 – Education Ministry claims

Education Ministry has said the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) begun a process to introduce the controversial Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) into the curriculum of public basic schools.

The Spokesperson for the Ministry, Vincent Assafuah, said Wednesday, that members of the opposition party who are joining the public condemnation of government over the CSE brouhaha, are hypocrites.

“I want to bring out the hypocrisy of Sam George [Ningo-Prampram legislator for the NDC] and his colleagues who are [claiming] that the Comprehensive Sexuality Education that they are making so much noise about…it is something that in 2015 they…introduced,” Vincent Assafuah stated on Top Story on Joy FM.

He said he has a CSE document, published before the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) won power in 2016 that was meant to serve as a source document for teachers on the CSE programme.

That document, he told Top Story host, Evans Mensah, via telephone, “was signed by the Director-General of Ghana Education Service in 2015, a man called Jacob A. Cole…”

Photo: Vincent Assafuah

This claim by the Education Ministry Spokesperson is likely to muddy the discussion on the CSE and push it into a politicised space. The NDC has not responded to the claim yet.

Brouhaha

Government has come under public pressure over claims that it is seeking to execute a secret Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) agenda through the introduction of CSE.

The guideline document for the teaching of CSE, according to religious organisations and anti-LGBT movement, has topics and modules that run counter to the moral fibre of the Ghanaian society.

Government, however, says it has not approved any such guidelines.

Education Minister, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, said Tuesday that the government has not approved the CSE document for use by teachers in basic schools.

“The Ministry would like to state categorically that…the curriculum framework for KG-P6 that has been approved by Cabinet from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment [NaCCA] for use in the development of school curricula and published on NaCCA website does not include anything on Comprehensive Sexuality Education,” the Minister said at a press conference.

Some commentators have said the government has beaten a retreat on the introduction of the CSE programme into the curriculum following the public furore.

$22m donor support

Before the controversy dies down, NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa also alleged on Wednesday that the Government of Ghana, under the current NPP administration, has already received funds from the Swedish government for the introduction of CSE.

He claims the Swedish government gave out $22 million to Ghana and other African countries to fight social opposition that may arise as a result of the introduction of the programme.

“This is going to be a tough manoeuvre for the Education Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh and more generally the Akufo-Addo government as long as they refuse to be candid and transparent over the CSE saga.

“On one hand they need to calm down outraged Ghanaians who are running out of patience with the many official contradictions and untruths; on the other hand they need to convince the Swedish Government which has already committed $22million to Ghana and the other 5 CSE Program Acceleration Countries that Ghana will justify the use of their taxpayer dollars especially when one of the key deliverables upon which our Government received the first tranche of money is a promise to “overcome social resistance and operational constraints,” he published on Wednesday.

However, on Top Story, Vincent Assafuah denied the claim by the NDC legislator.

“The Ministry of Education has not received any amount of money, supposedly 22 million Ghana cedis that is supposed to be used for the said allegations,” he defended.

Source: Ghana | Myjoyonline.com