New syllabus won’t go contrary to Ghana’s cultural values – NAPO

The Minister of Education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh says subjects that go contrary to the cultural values, norms and religious sensitivities of the country will not be accepted in the new school curriculum.

The government in 2019 announced the introduction of a new curriculum for basic schools in the country.

There were fears that the new curriculum put together by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) was to introduce school children to Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE).

The government received a lot of backlash from Religious groups, Civil Society Organizations, traditional leaders, politicians, as well as the public over the CSE subject.

At a stakeholder engagement by the Ministry of Education on the in-school reproductive health education, Mr Opoku Prempeh said the government’s position on the matter had not changed.

“Those views will be collected, collated, sensitized and wherever sections of the guidelines do not sit with our cultural values and norms and religious sensitivities will be expunged. If they are indeed in line with the norms of this country, then the nod will be given. We must make sure that the right things are done for the citizenry,” the Minister said.

Background

The government and United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) launched the Comprehensive Sexuality Education programme in February 2019 but concerns were raised about the potential for pupils to be given awareness of sexuality and LGBTQ issues at too early a stage.

Groups such as the Minority in Parliament, civil society organizations and religious bodies called on the government to withdraw the CSE from the new syllabus.

However, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo reiterated that he will not destroy the values and culture of Ghanaians through the introduction of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education into Ghana’s Educational System stating that he understands the values of the Ghanaian society and would not attempt to destroy it for anything.