National Council for Curriculum & Assessment, NaCCA has reacted to claims that its new curriculum does not focus on Kwame Nkrumah but rather J.B Danquah in the history lessons.
According to critics of the new basic curriculum, this is an attempt by the Council to satisfy the current political leadership to remove Nkrumah from the history books and rewrite the history of Ghana.
In a news conference held today April 11, 2019, to announce the introduction of the new curriculum as well as school uniforms, Director General of the Ghana Education Service, GES Prof Kwesi Owusu Amankwah said:
''The new curriculum that we are rolling out has some new features that we will like to highlight, with the KG the number of subjects has been reduced from 7 to 4.Within the 4 subjects we will do in-depth teaching. At the lower and upper primary, the number of subjects remains the same, there will be more depths in each subject with greater emphasis on literacy and numeracy''
''As part of the several reforms that are going on in the educational system, another area to be reformed is the school uniform for JHS, the Minister through consultations presented a memorandum to the cabinet which was duly accepted for us to change the Junior High School uniform from next academic year.''
''The idea is for them to start seeing themselves as secondary school students. The Ghana flag on the uniform symbolizes patriotism and sense of belonging, there is a certificate on the uniform which talks about graduation from the basic to secondary school, and then there is a graduation cap symbolising intelligence and superiority,'' he added.
Reacting to the history concerns raised by a section of the public, NaCCA in a statement signed by the Acting Executive Secretary Dr. Prince H. Armah said: "History is chronological and periodical in nature. The period covered in the history curriculum at the primary level focuses mainly on the pre-independent events that formed the basis for the later development of political activities which contributed to the independence of Ghana. At this stage, Dr. J. B. Danquah played a prominent role. It is therefore important for our young learners to appreciate the chronology of the events of our political history."
"At the JHS and SHS levels, the history curriculum will highlight further details on the independence and post-independence political activities. This is where Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and other political leaders and regimes feature more prominently," the statement added.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
PUBLIC CONCERNS ON THE HISTORY CURRICULUM
The attention of the National Council for Curriculum & Assessment (NaCCA) has been drawn to some concerns raised on certain social and electronic media platforms, claiming that the new history curriculum for primary schools is skewed towards amplifying the role of Dr. J.B. Danquah in Ghana’s history to serve a political interest. These concerns tend to give a partisan political colouration to the development of the history curriculum which NaCCA considers regrettable.
NaCCA, therefore, wishes to provide the following important clarifications:
1. History is chronological and periodical in nature. The period covered in the history curriculum at the primary level focuses mainly on the pre-independent events that formed the basis for the later development of political activities which contributed to the independence of Ghana. At this stage, Dr. J. B. Danquah played a prominent role. It is therefore important for our young learners to appreciate the chronology of the events of our political history.
2. At the JHS and SHS levels, the history curriculum will highlight further details on the independence and post-independence political activities. This is where Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and other political leaders and regimes feature more prominently.
3. The experts who designed the curriculum were not selected on the basis of any political considerations, and it is unfortunate for anyone to suggest otherwise. The likes of Prof. Kwame Osei Kwarteng, Prof. Wilson Yayoh, Dr. Samuel Boadi Siaw, Mrs. Anitha Adu-Boahen and other historians who worked on the History Curriculum are all scholars of great repute and proven integrity who have nothing to gain by skewing historical facts one way or the other. For quality assurance, the curriculum was reviewed by Professor Emeritus D. E. K. Amenumey.
Whilst NaCCA appreciates and values public feedback on the new curriculum as an important element in helping to improve learning outcomes through a robust and responsive curriculum, we wish to state for the avoidance of doubt that our work is based mainly on academic and professional considerations.
NaCCA looks forward to receiving more feedback from the public on the new curriculum. Further, NaCCA wishes to thank the public for the generally warm reception given to the new standards-based curriculum.
Dr. Prince H. Armah Ag. Executive Secretary
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