The Education Minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh says the introduction of textbooks in basic schools without teacher motivation is a misplaced priority.
The Ghana Education Service has been widely criticized for rolling out the new curriculum without the corresponding textbooks.
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NaCCA this year (2019) developed a teacher resource pack for all teachers in Public Schools to be used as a teaching guide while awaiting textbooks.
The 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.
But addressing stakeholders in Education in the Ashanti Region today November 7, 2019, Mr. Prempeh described the Minority's call for textbooks as a misplaced priority if it is not delivered in addition to other needed incentives.
 ''Let nobody sit on the radio and say we have started the curriculum and there are no learning materials.No textbook can change the geography of Ghana but it is how the textbook is written for the easy understanding of the teachers and pupils that is important and you can put the best textbook in the classroom without the teacher it is useless. So the main focus of education is the well-motivated teachers, not the textbooks''.
Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh also urged teachers to bear with the government to make useful changes that will transform Basic Education in the country
''If your employers will insist on monitoring teachers on their lesson plans that should write for supervisors to come and review their lesson plan it means it's not a textbook that is needed. We are all witnesses to the fact that no matter the textbooks that are used for some topics another textbooks will be better than other textbooks that the teachers will use to teach. You are told at teacher training that as you prepare your lesson plan you should take your reference materials and recommendation to the students''.
READ ALSO:Â Textbooks for new curriculum will not be available in schools - Ghana Book Publishers Association
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education earlier this month said 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.
READ ALSO:Â New GES curriculum to erase 'chew and pour' mentality among students