Some NGOs, CSOs and FBOs benefitted from $51M cash to push Comprehensive Sexuality Education - NAPO

Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the running mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and former Minister of Education, has revealed that several non-governmental, civil society, and faith-based organizations benefited from the $51 million Ghana received in 2012 to help develop a curriculum for Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE).

According to Dr. Prempeh, these organizations, after receiving funding, were instrumental in advancing the teaching of CSE.

Dr. Prempeh, commonly known as NAPO, claimed that upon assuming office as Education Minister, he discovered that the National Democratic Congress (NDC), under the leadership of Okudzeto Ablakwa, had developed a curriculum that included CSE for schoolchildren.

However, Ablakwa, who served as Deputy Minister of Education, refuted NAPO's claims, challenging him to produce evidence of a pro-LGBTQ curriculum allegedly prepared by the NDC.

In an interview with GTV monitored by GhanaWeb, NAPO reiterated that it was indeed the NDC that prepared the curriculum and engaged various stakeholders, including CSOs, NGOs, and FBOs, to promote its implementation in schools across the country. He stated:

"Between 2012 and 2016, before Nana Akufo-Addo came to office, $51 million had been signed and received by Ghana through the Ministry of Finance for the Ministry of Health, NGOs, FBOs, and the Ministry of Education to promote comprehensive sexuality education in this country. Despite stating the target age group as 10 to 19-year-olds, the foreword mentions that CSE was introduced from kindergarten up, impacting everyone in the Ghana Education Service."

Dr. Prempeh disclosed that he presented these findings to the Council of State in 2019 when the issue arose. He claimed that there was ample evidence showing that teachers had been trained and that revisions to the curriculum had been made to incorporate CSE, including teaching alternative forms of relationships.

According to him, the Ghana Education Service (GES) implemented these changes, and the GES Board—which includes faith-based organizations—approved them.

"I have evidence here where in a demonstration school [practice] in the Northern region, Tamale specifically, GNAT was invited to come and ...all sort of things, it is here...evidence, people who attended and signed. They were the experts, Ghana Education Service is the implementer of our education, before these things are approved, the GES Board includes Faith-based organisations, and so this had happened on the watch of all these agencies, NGOs CSOs who had participated.

"The money that NDC took in 2012, signed for in 2011, came on board in 2012 under president John Mahama, some NGOs took some of the money, some CSOs took some of the money, all to help come up with this in our schools. There was no protest from any of them," NAPO stated.

He criticized Ablakwa for hypocrisy, accusing him of falsely claiming that the NPP introduced CSE into the curriculum.

"The hypocrisy is when Okudzeto Ablakwa turns around to say that we, the NPP, introduced this into the curriculum. I've received letters from faith-based organizations, like the Catholic Church, accusing me, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, of introducing CSE in schools. But where were they when they sat on the GES Board overseeing this program?"

Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) is a curriculum-based approach designed to educate students on the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social aspects of sexuality.

However, its implementation has faced challenges, including varied acceptance levels among teachers, parents, and communities. There are also concerns regarding the appropriateness of certain topics for young audiences, with many stakeholders fearing that it may introduce children to sexual content prematurely.

Watch the latest episode of Ballot Briefing below: