Member of Parliament for the Builsa South Constituency in the Upper East Region and Deputy Ranking Member on the Committee on Education, Dr. Clement Apaak has questioned the activities and usefulness of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), if it cannot get hold of unapproved books in the markets.
According to him, the NaCCA should come clear on the guidelines it uses for accepting and assessing books before such books are sold to the public.
The legislator’s comment followed the recent publication of controversial textbooks that depict some tribes and their cultures in a bad light.
Speaking to a1radioonline.com, Dr. Apaak questioned the activities of the NaCCA as it has failed to put publishers in checks.
He said, “We can all recall how the initial publications that got into the public domain, were targeted at the person of Ghana’s first President, the Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. I took critical notice of the attempts to denigrate him and to present him as the worst thing to have happened to Ghana, when the contrary is what we all know.
Then came another publication that deliberately presents a stereotyped view of the Ewe people with deliberate misrepresentations as well as well calculated lies. The attempt to establish stereotyped views of specific ethnic groups and individuals in the curriculum of Ghana, to say the least, backward and unpardonable. It was needless, and must not be countenanced.”
In an attempt to seek answers from the authorities of the NaCCA, Dr. Apaak asked how such unapproved books found their way onto the market.
“How many copies of the so-called unapproved books got into the market? What are the guidelines for accepting and assessing books by NaCCA? What sanctions if any, are meted out to publishers who put out publications that are injurious to public sensitivity and national cohesion?”
He however called on the NaCCA as a matter of urgency to do more diligence with regards to all books produced per the new curriculum to prevent future accordances.
“NaCCA and all institutions that have authority over these conducts must institute measures to prevent any publication like this in future occurrences.”
Source: a1radioonline.com|101.1 MHz|Moses Apiah|Ghana
