Ethnocentric Textbooks: Blaming Napo is Sinister

Although the National Council for Curriculum Assessment (NaCCA) has exonerated the former Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, from a recent textbooks controversy threatening the peace of the country’s education system, there are well-orchestrated attempts to still link the approval of the ethnocentric textbooks to him; an act described as absurd.

In the wake of the controversy last week, the NaCCA has made it clear that it did not approve the three controversial books, an indication that the then education minister did not have any prior knowledge of their approval also.

NaCCA’s official position that it has not approved the three controversial textbooks: History of Ghana Textbook ‘3’ by Badu Nkansah Publications, History of Ghana for Basic ‘6’ and Golden English Basic ‘4’ by Golden Publications – making the negative waves on social media, though clears Dr. Opoku-Prempeh, some mischievous elements are out there just to malign the former minister.

A certain educationist, Mr. Ekow Djan, in his wildest imagination, feels that the former education minister should be held liable for the controversial textbooks.

Going by the official discourses, the educationist was not only misinformed, but was also just out there to malign the former hardworking minister of education over nothing.

READ More: Account for Covid-19 Funds before levying us

NaCCA has been emphatic as it explains: “The following textbooks currently making waves in the media have not been approved for use in schools: History of Ghana for Basic 6 by Golden Publications which carries distasteful information about Dr Kwame Nkrumah and the CPP: History of Ghana Textbook 3 by Badu Nkansah Publications which features “A song that shows the Ewes identity” Golden English Basic 4 by Golden Publications, which displays “Efo agrees to prepare the juju for the players” on page 17.”

“Authors make inappropriate references to personalities and ethnic groups which are deemed unfortunate, distasteful and are in contradiction with NaCCA’s Book Submission Guidelines and Approval Methodology which guide the work of publishers and authors,” it added.

It is instructive to know that once NaCCA did not approve the controversial books, the then minister could also not have anything to do with the said books, as they never got to his table.

It has been established that the minister at the time, properly scrutinized books that were approved for use in schools and on no occasion had anything to do with unapproved books.

The minister as the head of all agencies under the Ministry of Education, worked assiduously with members of his team and would not have approved any book that was distasteful for use in schools.