The Minority in Parliament has demanded the immediate dismissal of the Director-General of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) and the Chairperson of its Governing Board, citing what it describes as a serious breach of public trust.
The demand follows the alleged inclusion of LGBTQ-related content in senior high school teaching materials, specifically the Physical Education and Health Elective Teacher Manual.
Addressing the media at a press conference last week, the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Assafuah, accused NaCCA of failing in its oversight responsibilities.
He expressed the Caucau’s concerns about what he described as redefined concepts of sex, sexuality, sexual orientation, sexual rights, and gender identity contained in the manual.
Also read: Senegal reign supreme after heart-stopping AFCON final
“We unreservedly condemn these definitions as absurd, ideologically driven, and a deliberate attempt to introduce LGBTQ concepts into the education system through state-approved teaching and learning materials.”
“This is not neutral curriculum development. It represents a clear policy direction with far-reaching moral and social consequences imposed without national consensus,” Hon. Assafuah stated.
He outlined several demands, including: The immediate withdrawal of all teaching and learning materials containing LGBTQ-related content from senior high schools; a transparent and inclusive review of the affected materials involving Parliament, religious bodies, traditional authorities, parents, civil society organisations, education experts, and teacher unions; and a full parliamentary inquiry into the development, approval, funding, and circulation of the materials, including the involvement of any external partners.
The Old Tafo MP also called on religious leaders, particularly the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ghana and the Christian Council of Ghana, to independently scrutinise the controversial manual.
“As a Catholic and a Mass server, I once again call on my Bishops to scrutinize this Teacher Manual and determine whether its content is consonant with the teachings of Christ and the moral values we uphold as Christians,” he urged.
The Minority further appealed to the wider Christian community, civil society organisations, parents, traditional leaders, and teacher unions to speak out, stressing that sustained public pressure is critical to parliamentary accountability.
Anti-LGBTQ Bill back in focus
Hon. Assafuah also challenged the NDC government to clearly state its position on the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, popularly referred to as the anti-LGBTQ bill.
He recalled that the bill lapsed with the dissolution of the previous Parliament but was reintroduced as a Private Member’s Bill, only to be removed from the Order Paper by the Majority Leader.
“The justification offered, that the Majority Leader believed the bill had already been passed, is unacceptable within parliamentary practice.
“Whether by negligence or design, the effect has been the same: the deliberate frustration of a bill that was previously championed with moral urgency,” he said.
The Minority accused the government of inconsistency, noting that while in opposition, the NDC described delays in passing the bill as an endorsement of homosexuality.
Now in government, the Minority argued, the administration has fast-tracked other legislation under certificates of urgency. It cited more than 30 bills passed swiftly during the First Session of Parliament, including the Electronic Transfer Levy Repeal Bill and the Social Protection Bill.
“This record demonstrates clearly that when the Executive and the Majority consider a matter important, parliamentary time, procedure, and urgency are readily applied,” Hon. Assafuah asserted. “Yet the very issue previously described as a moral emergency has not been accorded similar treatment.”
The Minority reminded Ghanaians that Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) was introduced under an NDC administration between 2012 and 2016 in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
“Despite this record, the NDC orchestrated a national outcry in 2019, falsely attributing CSE to the NPP while distancing itself from its own foundational role,” he said.
Hon. Assafuah challenged the government to align its current actions with its past rhetoric and state clearly whether delay still amounts to endorsement and whether it will finally align its parliamentary conduct with its public rhetoric.