There is absolutely no new policy to introduce Arabic or Chinese in school curricula - President Mahama [VIDEO]
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There is absolutely no new policy to introduce Arabic or Chinese in school curricula - President Mahama [VIDEO]

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Thirteen subject areas aimed at improving foundational learning and equipping pupils with 21st-century skills, values and ethics are to be the focus in a revised curriculum prepared by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) aimed at introducing or strengthening basic level  education.

The newly revised curriculum for kindergarten and primary education include Ghanaian Language, English Language, Chinese, Arabic, French, Religious and Moral Education, Mathematics, Physical Education and Health, Creative Arts, Citizenship Education, Computing and Science (Agriculture), all for primary education alone.

The revised curriculum, covering Kindergarten to Primary Six, was submitted to the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, in Accra on Wednesday (July 22, 2026) by the Director-General of NaCCA, Professor Samuel Ofori Bekoe, who led the committee on the curriculum revision.

The minister consequently tasked the Ghana Education Service (GES) to review the revised curriculum submit it for “full implementation readiness and strict quality standards” to ensure smooth classroom execution.

Following public concerns and discussions on the rationale for the introduction of Chinese language, the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu has clarified that Chinese, Arabic and French will not be compulsory under the proposed new basic school curriculum.

According to him, the foreign languages will remain optional at the upper primary level and not at the kindergarten level, with English and Ghanaian languages serving as the primary medium of instruction.

Watch the video below

But speaking during a Citizens’ Engagement held in Wa at the climax of his two-day Resetting Ghana Tour of the Upper West Region on Saturday (Sept 12), President Mahama “there is absolutely no new policy that says that Arabic and Chinese [languages] are going to be introduced in our school curricula..."

I chair Cabinet and I can tell you no new curriculum has come for approval by Cabinet. Cabinet approves the curriculum, if there is a curriculum that is making changes to the subjects that are taught to our children, it will come to Cabinet before it becomes official policy.

"And so those who are going round and saying Arabic is going to be introduced, Chinese is going to be introduced, I want to say with all emphasis as President of the Republic of Ghana, that no such policy has been approved by the Cabinet that I chair, so lets put that matter to rest once and for all," President Mahama added.

“We are surrounded by French speaking countries, we are not even getting a handle on the teaching of French. Why will we go and introduce Chinese? Where are we even going to get Chinese teachers? Even French teachers are hard to find; where are we going to get Chinese teachers? We have to send planes to China and fly them down to come and teach our children,“ he said.

Watch the video below


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