Eat humble pie and admit you are withdrawing CSE – Edudzi Tameklo to gov't

Member of the NDC legal team, Edudzi Kudzo Tameklo has called on government to quit denying that the Comprehensive Sexuality Education was never part of the new curriculum and instead admit to withdrawing it.

According to him, the minister of education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has not been forthright with Ghanaians with his recent denial of the CSE being part of the new curriculum which is contradictory to a statement he made earlier this year.

“When you take the minister’s statement in February, relative to his statement in October or September clearly you will see a certain disconnect and so when you are speaking to the people of this country and the principal government agent relative to education, double speaks on a particular matter, speaks in the sense that you cannot immediately associate candour to his statement then moral society, religious groups, the chief imam, Muslim community will be up in arms and so it is not as though the conversation is farfetched.”

The Minister of Education at a press conference on Tuesday, October 1, denied the existence of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education in the revised curricula for basic schools.

This was after religious bodies, CSO’s, other institutions as well as individuals raised strong opposition to the introduction of the new programme with President of the GPCC Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso describing it as the ‘Comprehensive Satanic Education’.

The minister whilst addressing the media said “The Ministry would like to state categorically that…the curriculum framework for KG-P6 that has been approved by Cabinet from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment [NaCCA] for use in the development of school curricula and published on NaCCA website does not include anything on Comprehensive Sexuality Education.”

He further asked religious bodies and everyone speaking against the programme to clarify information they receive on issues with the appropriate authorities before speaking about it.

But speaking on ‘Newsfile’ on JoyNews, Edudzi Tameklo said the conversation around the CSE wouldn’t have gotten to the point it is now if government had been open with citizens from the beginning.

“This has become a problem because of what appears to be lack of trust coming relative to communication from government. Government communication on this matter has been clearly incompetent and untidy,” he said.

He wants the government to admit their wrongdoing.

“The claim that this conversation around CSE is a question of alarmist is a regrettable position we have taken. If today's government has come to the realization that there is overwhelming opposition to the CSE what you do is to eat your humble pie and say we are withdrawing it comprehensively.”