VIDEO: Students won't be taught inappropriate content under my watch - Prez Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has debunked suggestions that his government is bent on introducing ‘alien’ practices into the Ghanaian society through the controversial Comprehensive Sexuality Education.
The President was emphatic that no student in Ghana will be taught contents that are inappropriate in the Ghanaian context while he is Head of State.
Addressing the congregation at the St. Cyprian’s Anglican Church in Kumasi on Sunday, President Akufo-Addo clarified the government’s position insisting that his aim for introducing Free Senior High School is to widen access to and provide quality education but not to teach Ghanaian children concepts that are unacceptable in the country.
President Akufo-Addo said he didn’t bring free SHS for children to be taught inappropriate contents and insisted that so long as he is the President, and as a Christian, it will never happen that he will agree for inappropriate things to be taught in schools and called for calm.
Watch the video below;
Background
Sharp divisions have greeted the guidelines on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) for schools, with the educational authorities parrying the criticisms, saying the new policy holds the key to effective sexuality education for the youth.
Opposition to the policy hit a crescendo on Monday, September 30, with faith-based institutions and the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights leading the charge against the reforms.
Some members of the public also took to social media to demand an immediate halt to the policy to save children from moral degeneration.
However, in a strong defence of the policy, the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), the state body that developed the curriculum, insisted that the condemnation of the guidelines was misplaced.
Although the GES maintained that the policy was meant to empower children with relevant knowledge on sexuality to overcome sexual harassment and make informed decisions, the stakeholders argued that the introduction of sex education at a tender age would expose children to sexual immorality.
The Ministry of Education has also stated that the approved curriculum framework from Kindergarten to Primary six does not include Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) contrary to what was currently being discussed in the public domain.