Ghanaians are justified in their outrage over CSE - Dr. Apaak

Member of Parliament for Builsa South Dr. Clement Apaak has described the agitations from the public over the comprehensive sexual education in the curriculum as justified.

The legislator slammed the Ghana Education Service (GES) for introducing a programme with negative implications for families, and our values as a people and norms.

He is of the view that there should rather be forum where Ghanaians could deliberate on issues affecting our sexual reproductive health instead of the new curriculum introduced by the GES.

He said Ghanaians must accept external pressure to allow our children be though programmes alien to our cultural values and beliefs as a people.

"We simply cannot and must not accept an intrusion into our societal arrangements from external entities, which may have overt and covert motivations. Change is constant but change can be negative, a reason why we must be vigilant and not allow intrusive cultural practices that can be detrimental to our sociocultural system,’’ he said.

The MP further quizzed why the GES would introduce a programme "…at a time no effective teaching and learning is going on in our basic schools, due to the none availability of teaching and learning material because of the rushed introduction of the new basic school curriculum. Should their efforts not be directed at resolving this real and present challenge!

Ghana and the United Nations Education, Scientific, aprogramtural Organization (UNESCO) launched the CSE programme this year in a bid to empower adolescents and young people to deepen their scope of existing activities to attain a Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE).

It would support delivery of good quality CSE that empowers adolescents and young people to deepen the scope of existing activities to attain an almost full-scale implementation of CSE in six countries also known as the Programme Acceleration Countries – Ghana, Eswatini, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe," the Education ministry has said.

Over 20 million learners in 64,000 primary and secondary schools are expected to be reached on the Programme, as well as 47,000 preservice teachers and 367,000 in-service teachers.

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GES CSE – Folks, the level of public uproar in the wake of intended plans by the Ministry of Education (government) through the GES to introduce CSE is justified.

Why would the GES and for that matter, the Ministry (government) seek to introduce such a programme with implications for our families and family dynamics, our culture and cultural dynamics and our traditions and traditional dynamics, without consulting parents, cultural custodians as well as moral society?

If as a nation we believe we have a problem in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, a national forum ought to be initiated to discuss and agree on how to deal with such a challenge within the context of our traditions, culture, values, and morals.

We simply cannot and must not accept an intrusion into our societal arrangements from external entities, which may have overt and covert motivations. Change is constant but change can be negative, a reason why we must be vigilant and not allow intrusive cultural practices that can be detrimental to our sociocultural system.

If I may ask, why would the Ministry and GES seem eager to promote CSE at a time no effective teaching and learning is going on in our basic schools, due to the none availability of teaching and learning material because of the rushed introduction of the new basic school curriculum. Should their efforts not be directed at resolving this real and present challenge!

And let me put on record that as a deputy ranking member on the Education Committee of Parliament, I only became aware of this CSE in the public space.

The outrage by the good people of Ghana is evident and justified.

I remain a citizen.

Dr. Clement Abasinaab Apaak

M.P, Builsa South and Deputy Ranking Member on the Education Committee of Parliament.