NPP Challenges President Mahama Over Contradictory Education Policies on Arabic and Chinese Curriculum

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is demanding urgent clarification from President John Mahama regarding the proposed inclusion of Arabic and Chinese in Ghana’s public school curriculum. This demand follows a public contradiction where President Mahama asserted that no such policy has been approved by Cabinet, while the opposition cites extensive evidence of implementation already in progress. The NPP describes the situation as a "policy breakdown," arguing that activities within the Ministry of Education and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) suggest a lack of coordination or unauthorized initiatives at the highest levels of government.

According to the NPP, significant preparations have been made despite the lack of a formal Cabinet mandate. The opposition points to the engagement of 160 writers for curriculum revision and the commencement of teacher training sessions as proof that the initiative is well advanced. They have raised two possibilities for the discrepancy: either the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, is acting without executive authorization, or the President is failing to be transparent about the government’s true agenda. Consequently, the NPP has called for either the dismissal of the Education Minister or a formal explanation and apology from President Mahama to the Ghanaian public.

In response to the growing controversy, NaCCA has officially denied partnering with the Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) for a teacher-training program intended to support a Chinese language curriculum. NaCCA clarified that any participation by its officers in such programs was strictly in a personal capacity and did not constitute an official institutional endorsement. The Council emphasized that any changes to the national curriculum must undergo rigorous statutory procedures and be communicated through formal government channels, urging the public to disregard claims of an unauthorized rollout.

Despite these denials, the NPP maintains that the government must account for the resources and personnel already committed to these curriculum revisions. The government continues to maintain that no formal policy for the inclusion of these languages exists in public schools and has urged the public to ignore contrary reports. This development highlights a significant communication gap between the executive and its educational agencies, raising broader questions about transparency in the administration's educational reform agenda as the 2026 academic year approaches.