President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Most Rev. Philip Naameh has said the minister of education, Mathew Opoku Prempeh has not been honest with church leaders regarding the Comprehensive Sexuality Education, (CSE) ABC News can report.

The Prelate, who speaks on behalf of the conference said the minister of education, in September 2019, held a meeting with Church leaders regarding the CSE of which the Catholic Bishops’ Conference was a part of. According to the Archbishop, the minister of education indicated that the CSE was an agenda of some Western NGOs and he assured them that he (the Minister) and the government would not fall prey to that.

The Archbishop says he is surprised that after all the assurances by the minister of education and the government, there is a move to introduce the CSE in Ghana.

“When the Minister of education called heads of churches to a meeting, he himself said it was an agenda of some western NGOs who through this kind of thing want to introduce all kinds of things to Ghana. But he and the government are not ready for that. So it is a big surprise to me to see that they want to put this in the syllabus and start teaching 5 year olds about sex. It means the minister of education was not honest with us. Or all those within the education sector are not of one mind and one heart and this is a pity,” Archbishop Naameh said.

The Archbishop says he is of a strong conviction that the move is an agenda to subtly introduce homosexuality to Ghana and has called on parents and persons in authority to reject the move he describes as unacceptable

“Some people are telling me the syllabus is a draft. Therefore we want to call on people in high positions and parents to reject it outright because this is not for us. It is a subtle way to introduce this gay and lesbian thing to our children. We are already struggling to teach morality to our children at all levels of our schools and they want to bring this in. This is unacceptable,” he intimated.

Beginning next year, pupils in all public schools, including 4-year-olds will be given Comprehensive Sexuality Education. Officials say the subject content would be age-appropriate and empower pupils with values that would protect them from sexual harassment.

But the programme has come under intense criticism receiving bashing from a section of the public including church leaders with many describing it as a deliberate attempt to introduce homosexuality to Ghana.

Law lecturer and critic of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) movement, Moses Foh-Amoaning, has slammed the introduction of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in Ghanaian public schools. Saying some texts and modules in the curriculum that will guide the CSE programme in Ghana resonate with LGBT activism.

The comprehensive sexuality education guideline indicates that the programme would unable pupils acquire accurate and reliable information on sexual rights and reproductive health, develop skills for self development and decision making, sense of self confidence, assertiveness, ability to take responsibility, ask questions and seek help and empathy.

The programme will also seek to nurture positive attitudes and values including open-mindedness, respect for self and others, positive self esteem, comfort, non-judgemental attitude and sense of responsibility concerning sexual and reproductive health issues.