The Minority side in Parliament has strongly condemned the attempt by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to sneak into school curriculum several poorly-written textbooks for basic schools that have distorted Ghanaians history and has blatantly pushed ethnocentric sentiments against people from the Volta Region.
The textbooks by one Badu Nkansah Publishing pushed widely held stereotypes that Ewes from the Volta Region were inward-looking as well as witchdoctors who revel in voodoo.
The content of the textbook reiterates some similar stereotypes pushed by politicians, particularly from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The Minority called on state agencies to work fast to remedy the situation.
“The last straw which broke the camel’s back is the derogatory remarks contained in a number of textbooks written for use in our basic schools in the country. It is therefore naive for the publication of textbooks that tend to portray the Ewe ethnic group as a voodoo worshipping people,” Peter Nortu-Kotoe read in a statement on behalf of the Minority.
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“Volta MPs Caucus of Ghana’s Parliament has taken notice of the public outrage and condemnation against the publisher’s clear ethnocentric and divisive content. It is important to state unequivocally that as a caucus we find the contents of these books most distasteful, backward, unacceptable and most reprehensible. It is a part of a grand scheme by certain individuals to deliberately denigrate, vilify, indoctrinate and poison the minds of people against the Ewe ethnic group.”
In the said textbook, titled “History of Ghana” a distorted history is narrated about how Ewes vote for their chiefs to be selected.
“We see this as a distortion of our tradition and history and feel slighted by the publishers of this book. The book further alleges that this so-called “vote” for chiefs is influenced by the elders. The publishers must note that the Ewe people have rich cultures including rite to succession of chiefs and nowhere in Ewe land that the ballot is used to select a chief,” the Minority fired.
Volta MPs Caucus of Ghana’s Parliament says it has taken notice of the public outrage and condemnation against the publisher’s clear ethnocentric and divisive content. The Volta caucus described the publications as “distasteful, backward, unacceptable and most reprehensible. It is a part of a grand scheme by certain individuals to deliberately denigrate, vilify, indoctrinate and poison the minds of people against the Ewe ethnic group.”
Meanwhile, the recalcitrant publisher reportedly died two years ago and left the business to his wife and family.
In an interview on Kofi TV monitored by Whatsup News, Regina Badu Nkansah, the wife of the late Badu Nkansah admitted that the company did a shoddy job because the demise of its founder had thrown it into turmoil.
“Because we were not having money and other publishers were campaigning that we no longer produce books, we had to push some into the system and the schools,” she told Kofi TV while apologizing for the mess that has been caused by the poorly researched books.
Source: Whatsupnewsghana