Comprehensive Sexuality Education Policy In Ghana

NEWS COMMENTARY ON PURPORTED COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION POLICY IN GHANA

The government of Ghana in conjunction with the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO in February this year launched a programme known as the Comprehensive Sexuality Education, CSE aimed at highlighting awareness among school pupils in sexuality matters. Seven months down the line, the decision by government to introduce sex education in Ghanaian schools has sparked off severe agitation, apprehension and misunderstanding among the populace. The matter has as usual created a vast public discourse as citizens continue to share their options in and outside the media. Social media being the major transporter of the sentiments. There have been threats from highly placed institutions to fight the implementation of the programme. Government responded to the public outcry and said the curriculum approved for Ghanaian schools as the basic school study framework does not include CSE. The Minister for Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, addressing the media noted that “no teacher was trained on CSE. This raises questions on the launch of the CSE in February. Reviewing policies and programmes is very normal in governance and it is believed that this may be one of such. According to him, “The curriculum framework from KG to Primary six that has been approved by Cabinet from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NACA for use in the development of school curriculum and published on NACA website does not include anything on Comprehensive Sexuality Education.”

“Comprehensive sex education is a sex education instruction method based on a curriculum that aims to give students the knowledge, attitudes, skills and values to make appropriate and healthy choices in their sexual lives.” When properly implemented, it is supposed to aid students to understand very well the urgent need to guide against deadly social vices and also know how best to get themselves prevented from contracting sexually transmitted infections and viruses. Experts say CSE helps to reduce unplanned and unwanted pregnancies which in most cases lead to illegal abortions resulting also to unwarranted deaths. It also checks the lowering rates of domestic and sexual violence.

One of the key features according to sexual education specialists is that CSE promotes sexual abstinence, a very important virtue for the young ones in society. If policymakers, curriculum developers, teachers, and students will be very much committed to the objectives of CSE what will then be the evil about it? Is it satanic as people are espousing when sex education could help shape society, by way of moral uprightness and discipline? Within the Ghanaian parlance, ‘dipo’ as known within the krobo communities was and still known to be an excellent process of sexual, moral, religious, and cultural practice “used to usher into puberty, girls who are virgins and it signifies that a lady, who partakes in it, is of age to be married.” There is also the ‘bragoro’ of the Akans which also has similar values. However, we look at CSE there is one basic truth and that is “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Arguably, promiscuity has deeply gained ground in Ghana. We cannot pretend that the country has no sexuality problem. Recent reports have it that there are over 20 thousand sex workers in the Western Region alone.

Initial results of an ongoing research indicate that both men and women who are highly engaged in one immoral activity or the other on the internet are becoming alarming. The school pupils of today are highly vulnerable and severely exposed to the world of immorality through the internet rather than being exposed to what will help them live decent and fruitful lives. Unfortunately, sex education is deemed as ‘taboo’ in this country and in some homes, it must not even be thought of and in the church, it is indescribable. There is a huge challenge and the way forward is the need for a stronger political will and support from all especially the media, the clergy, traditional and opinion leaders, to make sexuality education a comprehensive initiative. There should be a national policy on school-based comprehensive sexuality education crafted in line with the acceptable Ghanaian values and norms. The need to work as a country to secure decent and morally upright citizens in the future must be the focus.

BY: NANA SIFA TWUM, MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT.