Former Education Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh has denied any role in the introduction of the Comprehensive Sexually Education (CSE) programme.
The Vice Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is insisting that, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) initiated the controversial programme into the curriculum of public basic schools.
The CSE was a curriculum-based process designed to teach and learn about the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social aspects of sexuality.
The aim was to equip children and young people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values necessary to make informed decisions about their health and well-being, develop respectful social and sexual relationships, and understand their rights.
The NPP government in 2019 came under public pressure over claims that it is seeking to execute a secret Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) agenda through the introduction of CSE.
The guideline document for the teaching of CSE, according to religious organisations and anti-LGBT movement, had topics and modules that run counter to the moral fibre of the Ghanaian society.
But according to Dr Prempeh, the CSE was initiated by the erstwhile Mills and Mahama administration before he assumed office in 2016.
In an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme, Napo as he is popularly known said it is false for anybody to say he or the NPP government introduced it.
“CSE was not approved as part of the new curriculum. The Mills & Mahama government introduced it into our curriculum after taking money from UN. All these were done before I took over.
“When the NPP assumed office, we didn’t do any curriculum amendment; it was a total replacement of the curriculum. But the NDC had gone for money and they did the guidelines, trained the teachers and everything,” he claimed.
Napo further alleged that, the NDC had strategically placed church leaders and Imams in various regions to influence teachers in the implementation of this curriculum.
He added that, Cabinet had not approved the CSE, hence doesn’t know why he was criticised for introducing it.
Listen to Napo in the video below:
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