The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has ordered a review of the basic school curriculum to address the ongoing controversy surrounding Ghana’s founding history.
Haruna Iddrisu expressed disappointment over the debate the confusion has caused within the educational sector.
The Minister made these remarks in Accra on April 16 while inaugurating a committee tasked with reviewing the curriculum for Primary Four to Six.
The long-standing controversy over who should be credited as the founder or founders of Ghana continues to spark debate.
While some Ghanaians maintain that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah is the sole founder of the nation, others argue that Dr. J.B. Danquah and several others played pivotal roles and should also be recognized.
During the previous NPP administration under President Akufo-Addo, August 4 was declared Founders’ Day to honour the collective contributions of Ghana’s forebears.
However, the decision has remained divisive, drawing mixed reactions from Members of Parliament and academia.
In a move to settle the debate and promote historical clarity, Mr Haruna Iddrisu announced the formation of a committee to review the basic education curriculum.
” I am at a loss that at 68 years we are still grappling with who are the founders of Ghana and who is the founding father of Ghana. This must be a settled matter. In every country, there are its founding fathers. It is reasonable to conclude that Dr Kwame Nkrumah is the founding leader of Ghana but if at this stage, you still want children to be asking fathers and mothers question, who the founding father of Ghana is, who are the founders of Ghana, then there is a problem, At 68 years, you shouldn’t be asking who birth you,” he said.
The Education Minister also revealed that the government, under President John Dramani Mahama, will soon introduce a new policy framework dubbed “Beyond Education”, aimed at further reforming the sector.
“Into next year, President John Dramani Mahama should be launching a new flagship in education that will be themed or dubbed ‘Beyond academic skills beyond classroom learning what other competencies or talents can learners acquire’ We expect that in the review of the curriculum, some dedicated time, at least an hour or two be allotted for learners to be with themselves in groups to undertake some national exercises.
“I mean if at school, boys and girls should be doing painting give them one hour to do painting. If they have to be in a group to learn how to farm give them one hour to learn how to farm,” he said.
