By: Celestine Avi
President John Dramani Mahama has proposed the introduction of a special curriculum in Ghana’s basic and secondary schools aimed at instilling discipline, courtesy, and responsible citizenship in children from an early age.
He made the call at the relaunch of the National Sanitation Day held at the Institute of Local Government Studies in Accra on Saturday.
Cleanliness as a Value System
President Mahama stressed that Ghana must not abandon its traditional values of cleanliness in the name of modernization. He drew examples from his childhood, when sweeping compounds and surroundings was a communal duty enforced by parents, and compared it to practices in Japan and Singapore.
“Every society has values, and in all societies, one most important value is the value of cleanliness,” he said.
“You cannot be a godly person if you live in filth. You cannot be a godly person if you are not clean.”
Reintroducing Civics Education
Recalling his school days, the NDC flagbearer said subjects like Civics and simple textbooks such as Courtesy for Boys and Girls helped shape values in children, teaching them respect, personal hygiene, and responsibility.
“When I was young, we had a course in basic school called Civics. For one hour every week, we were taught the values and courtesies and how to be a responsible citizen,” he noted.
He lamented that the breakdown of such training has contributed to declining discipline and poor sanitation habits in society.
A Curriculum on Courtesy and Responsibility
President Mahama disclosed that discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Education to design a separate curriculum dedicated to discipline, courtesy, and responsible citizenship.
“We are in discussion with the Ministry of Education to see how we can create, as part of the curriculum, a separate curriculum on courtesy and responsible citizenship, so that we can train our children from basic school through secondary school,” he said.
According to him, this approach is essential to building responsible future leaders who will uphold cleanliness and civic responsibility as part of their daily lives.
Training Children to Uphold Cleanliness
Citing international examples, President Mahama emphasized how children in countries like Japan are trained to pick up litter and uphold national values of cleanliness, a practice that becomes second nature when they grow.
“The beautiful thing is, they are trained from when they are children to believe in that value. And so, when they grow, they don’t depart from it,” he explained.
President Mahama concluded that by embedding such lessons into the education system, Ghana can cultivate a disciplined, civic-minded generation to sustain the culture of cleanliness and orderliness in communities.
