Former President John Mahama has added his voice to the many calls on government to ditch the proposed Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) guidelines reportedly planned to be included in the new basic education curriculum.
He said the CSE in any form is unacceptable.
John Mahama in a Facebook post said the government must “respect and uphold the enduring values, norms and the right culture of Ghana” by withdrawing the CSE and focus on improving the quality of education the country.
“What Ghana urgently needs is a substantial improvement in quality education, which is accessible and affordable to all,” Mahama noted.
Read the statement below:
I fully understand the outrage of the moral society and a large majority of parents, opposing the planned introduction of what government and its partners are calling Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE).
As noted by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Most Rev. Philip Naameh of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Rev. Dr. Paul Frimpong-Manso and National Chief Imam Sheikh Nuhu Sharubutu, this addition to the national curriculum cannot be acceptable in any form. Government must immediately withdraw its policy to promote sexuality, sexuality types and practice among young children as the CSE Guidelines implicitly advocates.
We reject it and note that it is important for Government and all Ghanaians to respect and uphold the enduring values, norms and the rich culture of Ghana.What Ghana urgently needs is a substantial improvement in quality education, which is accessible and affordable to all.
Background
The planned integration of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education in the basic school curriculum has generated mixed reactions from the public with some suggesting that the course is a backdoor attempt to introduce children to LGBT issues.
Others have suggested that the material be limited to pupils in Junior High Schools.
Despite clarification from bodies such as the Ghana Education Service that the curriculum has nothing to do with “LGBT issues, masturbation or explicit display/labeling of intimate body parts” and insisted that the education is meant to inculcate relevant values into pupils, many have vehemently challenged the position, insisting that it is an attempted to propagate sexuality education that does not reflect that values and norms of the Ghanaian society.
Comprehensive Sexuality Education not approved for basic schools – Gov’t
The Government subsequently clarified that the approved curriculum framework for basic schools does not include Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE).
Addressing the media in Accra on Tuesday, the Education Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, noted that “no teacher was trained on Comprehensive Sexuality Education.”
“The curriculum framework from KG to P6 that has been approved by Cabinet from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment for use in the development of school curriculum and published on NACA website does not include anything on Comprehensive Sexuality Education.”
“The curriculum that has been developed out of the framework for use by the Ghana Education Service in all public schools and approved by cabinet and as published does not include comprehensive sexuality education. NACA has not approved any material on Comprehensive Sexuality Education as it is not included in the published curriculum framework,” the Minister insisted.
