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Brouhaha over sex education in basic schools: No sexuality education in KG –P6 …Education Minister dismisses claim

The Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh has appealed to Faith Based Organisations (FBO) and the general public to exercise restraint and verify the facts of official government policy before making public pronouncements.

The call comes in the wake of the controversy that has been generated by the alleged incorporation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) into the new standards-based curriculum.

Several people as well as some faith-based organisations, over the last two days have fiercely criticised the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service for what they believe was a subtle attempt to introduce “explicit sexuality” education to children from kindergarten to primary six.

Amongst the vociferous critics have been the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Office of the National Chief Imam and the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values.

However, addressing the media in Accra yesterday, the Minister stated that the curriculum framework for kindergarten to primary six approved by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) and subsequently approved by cabinet did not include any CSE.

He said “The curriculum framework (KG-P6) approved by the National Council for Curriculum Assessment for use in the development of school curriculum, which has been approved by cabinet and published on (www.nacca.gov.gh) does not include CSE.”

The Minister emphasised that Comprehensive Sexuality Education was not approved in the country therefore could not be contemplated.

Spelling out the processes by which educational drafts become national policy, he said it had to be submitted for cabinet to subject it to the entire necessary probe after which approval is given for it to be adopted as a policy.

Dr Prempeh said there were faith-based organisations on both the Ghana Education Service and NaCCA’s Governing Councils to help ensure that the curriculum for schools in the country was aligned with our values as a nation.

“The nation should be rest assured that the government and the ministry, will not compromise our societal values in the delivery of quality education.”

While admitting that his ministry jointly launched the “O3” Initiative and the Regional Acceleration Programme with the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), it was wrong for anybody to jump at the back of that and conclude that children as young as four years were going to be introduced to CSE.

He said sex education had been part of our educational curricular for a very long time and nothing would be done to change it for the purposes of the interest of any foreign group.

He explained that the “O3” was a programme initiative of the UNESCO targeted at other agencies including the Ministry of Education and as the sector Minister in charge of education which also had the UNESCO as a partner agency; there was nothing wrong with launching the programme.

Dr Prempeh said as a government, it was mindful of the socio-cultural norms of the country and would not do anything to undermine it.

He therefore called on the public to disregard whatever documents that were being circulated, stressing that “As have stated here right now, people can go for the standards-based curriculum and check for themselves.”

By Cliff Ekuful

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