General News of Tuesday, 16 March 2021

Source: 3news.com

Teachers are approving their own text books for students - CCT

Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum

The government has failed to provide textbooks for the new syllabus, some teachers have revealed.

Three controversial textbooks making waves on social media namely, History of Ghana Textbook 3 by Badu Nkansah Publications, History of Ghana for Basic 6 and Golden English Basic 4 by Golden Publications. The supposed disparaging comments made against ewes in this history have created public uproar forcing the National Council for Curriculum Assessment, NaCCA to issue a warning on the controversial matter.

In a statement, GES said it has not approved the said books and must be withdrawn from the markets immediately.

The Coalition of Concerned Teachers, (CCT) said the schools are using their textbooks without government approving any.

The Communications Director of CCT, Addoquaye Awuleyquaye reacting to the raging controversy matter on the 3FM’s Sunrise Morning Show said “The teachers will consult with the parents and the teachers will say this book is good you can get it for your child and the parents will go for them. So schools are using different books. Government has not provided any textbooks for us to use so the teachers are using their own discretion to approve textbooks in their schools that this is good let the parent buy if they afford it”.

“That is not what the procedure is and we have been calling for the textbooks to come for a year now when the new curriculum was brought in 2019 without textbooks. You heard the discussions that went on that we are yet to approve them and they would come in soon and as we speak they said they have approved this one and we haven’t seen it”. He stated.

According to the teachers, it is the government that is supposed to approve the textbooks and not teachers.

He said they were consulted throughout to be part of the committee that even drafted the new curriculum and the teachers have been consulted in one way or the other to approve the selected books but the teachers haven’t seen those books instead different books rather making rounds on the market.

“Here comes a case that one publisher is claiming those textbooks have not been approved so he doesn’t know how it came to the market but the book is in your bosom so how did it come to the market then. If the government has provided textbooks and we know this what our pupils are supposed to buy we will go in for them,” he stressed.