NGOs, CSOs, FBOs benefitted from $51M to push Comprehensive Sexuality Education - NAPO

Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the former Minister of Education and current running mate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has disclosed that various non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations (CSOs), and faith-based groups were recipients of part of the $51 million allocated to Ghana in 2012 for developing a curriculum on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE).

Dr Prempeh, often referred to as NAPO, stated that these organisations were crucial in furthering the teaching of CSE after they received the funding.

He claimed that, upon taking office, he found that a CSE curriculum had already been established under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) during Okudzeto Ablakwa’s tenure as Deputy Minister of Education. In response, Ablakwa has rejected NAPO’s claims, challenging him to provide evidence of a pro-LGBTQ curriculum purportedly prepared by the NDC.

During an interview with GTV that was covered by GhanaWeb, Dr Prempeh reiterated his stance that the NDC was responsible for developing the curriculum and engaging various stakeholders, including NGOs, CSOs, and FBOs, to ensure its integration into schools across the nation. He asserted:

“Between 2012 and 2016, before Nana Akufo-Addo came to office, $51 million had been signed and received by Ghana through the Ministry of Finance for the Ministry of Health, NGOs, FBOs, and the Ministry of Education to promote comprehensive sexuality education in this country. Despite stating the target age group as 10 to 19-year-olds, the foreword mentions that CSE was introduced from kindergarten up, impacting everyone in the Ghana Education Service.”

He mentioned that he presented his findings to the Council of State in 2019 when the subject arose, claiming there was significant evidence showing that teachers had received training and that the curriculum had been revised to include CSE, which covered alternative relationship types.

According to Dr Prempeh, these changes were enacted by the Ghana Education Service (GES), whose Board, which includes representatives from faith-based organisations, approved the revisions.

“I have evidence here where in a demonstration school [practice] in the Northern Region, Tamale specifically, GNAT was invited to come and ...all sorts of things, it is here...evidence, people who attended and signed. They were the experts; Ghana Education Service is the implementer of our education. Before these things are approved, the GES Board includes faith-based organisations, and so this had happened on the watch of all these agencies, NGOs, and CSOs who had participated. The money that NDC took in 2012, signed for in 2011, came on board in 2012 under President John Mahama; some NGOs took some of the money, some CSOs took some of the money, all to help come up with this in our schools. There was no protest from any of them,” NAPO stated.

He also accused Ablakwa of hypocrisy for claiming that the NPP was the one that introduced CSE into the curriculum.

“The hypocrisy is when Okudzeto Ablakwa turns around to say that we, the NPP, introduced this into the curriculum. I’ve received letters from faith-based organisations, like the Catholic Church, accusing me, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, of introducing CSE in schools. But where were they when they sat on the GES Board overseeing this programme?”

Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) aims to educate students about the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social dimensions of sexuality. However, its implementation has faced various challenges, including differing acceptance among teachers, parents, and communities, as well as concerns regarding the suitability of certain topics for younger audiences, with many stakeholders fearing it may prematurely expose children to sexual content.

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