The President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops‘ Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, has said the inclusion of LGBTQ-related content in a Senior High School teacher’s manual is “intentional” and deeply concerning.
The Bishops asserted that the manual was inconsistent with Ghana’s “cultural, biological, and moral understanding of the human person.”
According to the Catholic Bishops, they are calling for a comprehensive review and audit of the country’s curriculum development processes.
In their press statement, the Catholic Bishops highlighted that the incident brings to light the poor systemic weaknesses in the education sector.
Part of the Catholic Bishops’ statement read, “We call for a comprehensive review of curriculum development and editorial processes, with particular attention to transparency, accountability, and value alignment,” the statement said.
“Nevertheless, we remain convinced that this incident reveals deeper weaknesses in oversight, consultation, and value alignment within curriculum development processes,” it added.
The Catholic Bishops, however, commended Professor Godfred A. Bokpin and Mr Moses Foh-Amoaning for their public advocacy on the matter.
“Public trust in education depends on transparency, accountability and fidelity to constitutional and moral principles,” the statement emphasised.
Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament, led by Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, has called for the immediate dismissal of the Director-General of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), Professor Samuel Ofori Bekoe and the Board Chair of NaCCA.
According to the minority, NaCCA’s leadership had failed to prevent the inclusion of the content, adding that the printing, distribution and recalling of the Year Two Physical Education and Health (Elective) Teacher Manual has caused financial losses for the state.
The minority asserted that the NaCCCA Director-General and Council’s leadership must be held accountable.
Speaking to the media on behalf of the Minority caucus on Thursday, January 15, Vincent Ekow Assafuah stated, “We demand the dismissal of the Director-General of NaCCA and the Chairman of the Board for failure of oversight and breach of public trust.
NaCCA is now telling us, assuming without admitting, that the document was developed by the NPP government in 2024. If you don’t believe in it, why go ahead to even print them in 2025?”
“That is causing financial loss to the state because these are manuals you have printed and distributed across the country,” he stressed.