Sack Haruna Iddrisu if Arabic, Chinese policy lacked approval - NPP to Mahama

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called for the removal of Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu if he pursued plans to introduce Arabic and Chinese in basic schools without the approval of the President or Cabinet.

In a statement issued by the Party's Education Sector Policy Committee on September 16, 2026, it questioned how the Education Ministry and its agencies could have progressed with curriculum development and teacher training if the policy had not received the required approval.

“If the Minister announced and pursued this policy without presidential and Cabinet approval, the President must sack him. If, however, the Minister acted with the authority or knowledge of the President or Cabinet, then the President must apologise to the Ghanaian people for denying a policy his government had already set in motion,” it said.

The NPP noted that the Education Ministry and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) had already taken steps towards implementing the initiative.

According to the NPP, Iddrisu had earlier announced that Chinese and Arabic would be compulsory foreign languages at the secondary school level and had linked the initiative to President Mahama’s vision for education.

It said NaCCA subsequently engaged about 160 writers and reviewers to develop a revised curriculum, which was presented to the Education Minister on July 22, 2026.

The NPP also cited a teacher training programme organised by NaCCA on September 3, 2026, with support from the Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Coast, as evidence that preparations had progressed beyond an initial proposal.

“Either the Minister was advancing a major policy direction without the President’s authority, despite presenting it as part of the President’s vision, or the public has still not been given the full account of what Government had actually authorised and pursued,” the Party said.

The NPP also questioned the public resources committed to curriculum development, implementation preparations and teacher training.

It also cited a September 3, 2026, training programme organised by NaCCA, with support from the Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Coast, to train teachers to implement the new Chinese language curriculum.

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“If there was ‘absolutely no new policy’, why were public resources committed to developing the curricula, preparing the system for implementation and training teachers?” it asked.

The NPP said the conflicting positions raise broader questions about policy coordination, ministerial authority and communication between the Presidency, the Education Ministry and its agencies.

The controversy follows the Education Ministry’s earlier clarification that Arabic and Chinese would be optional under the proposed basic-school curriculum, while President Mahama has maintained that there is no new policy to introduce the two languages across public schools.

President Mahama, speaking during a citizens’ engagement at the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies in the Upper West Region on September 12, said Cabinet had not approved any such policy.

The president also questioned the feasibility of introducing Chinese when Ghana continues to face challenges recruiting teachers to teach French.

“We’re not even getting a handle on the teaching of French. Why would we go and introduce Chinese?” he quizzed.

JKB/BAI

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