Mahama says no policy approved to introduce Chinese or Arabic in schools
The president’s clarification follows concern over a proposed basic-school curriculum that lists both languages. The education minister says foreign languages would be optional at upper-primary level.
President John Dramani Mahama says his government has not approved a new policy to introduce Chinese or Arabic into Ghana’s school curriculum, following public debate over a revised basic-school curriculum.
Speaking at a citizens’ engagement in Wa on Saturday, September 12, he said no new curriculum had come before Cabinet for approval. His statement addresses whether the proposed changes are official policy, not whether the languages appear in a draft.
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) submitted a revised curriculum covering kindergarten to Primary Six to Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu on 22 July. The account supplied lists Chinese and Arabic among the subject areas in the proposal.
Mr Iddrisu subsequently asked the Ghana Education Service to review the curriculum for implementation readiness and quality standards. Following public concern, he said Chinese, Arabic and French would not be compulsory under the proposal and would be optional at upper-primary level, not kindergarten.
“There is absolutely no new policy,” Mr Mahama said of claims that Arabic and Chinese were being introduced. He said curriculum changes would have to come before Cabinet before becoming official policy.
The distinction matters for parents and teachers trying to understand what pupils may eventually be taught. A subject’s inclusion in a proposal does not establish that schools have been directed to teach it.