New curriculum : We cannot give a specific time-frame for distribution of textbooks - Edu . Ministry

The Ministry of Education says it cannot give a specific time-frame for the distribution of textbooks for the new curriculum for basic schools.

According to the Ministry, the are waiting on the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) to complete the necessary approvals for the reviewed curriculum which will be submitted to the publishers.

NaCCA this year(2019) reviewed the curriculum for basic school education. The move was to modify some subjects and to improve students’ learning needs to ensure relevance.

Speaking to Citi FM, Public Relations Officer for the Education Ministry, Vincent Ekow Assafuah said the Ministry cannot give a specific date  the new curriculum for basic schools will be available for use by pupils

“We are unable to give specific timelines as to when it will be available but what I can assure you is that the necessary approvals will be done by the National Council for Curriculum for Assessment by the end of the 10th (November).”

“The curriculum was brought about to cure mischief in the system. The mischief whereby the world of work is not in consonance with what is taught in the various classrooms. The new curriculum is supposed to cure that mischief. If you bring about the textbook then the textbook should be able to be in consonance with the original idea [and also] with the reviewed curriculum. Most of the work will have to be left for publishers and publishers will have to be entreated that as soon as they get approvals, they should make available the curriculum for the various schools.”

Meanwhile, a Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Education Committee, Dr Clement Apaak had called on the government to come out with a specific date as to when basic schools will receive learning materials for the new curriculum which started in September 2019.

He said the “Nana Akufo-Addo led NPP government owes Ghanaians an explanation as to why two months on, there are no books based on the new curriculum.”

Dr Apaak in a statement backed his demand with a disclaimer issued by NaCCA with regards to the release of the educational materials.

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NaCCA had refuted claims that “publishers are selling textbooks and other supplementary learning materials to schools and the general public purported to have been approved by it for the new Standards-Based Curriculum (KG-B6)”.

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