The Ministry of Education yesterday received a revised curriculum for Kindergarten to Primary Six from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA). Consequently, the Ghana Education Service (GES) is to review it within one week and bring it to full implementation readiness and strict quality standards.
The development is more than a syllabus update. It is a statement about the kind of Ghana we want to build. If we get this right, the reform can close learning gaps, reduce subject overload, and equip children with skills for a 21st-century economy.
If we get it wrong, it will be another document on a shelf.
It is instructive to note that an evaluation of the existing curriculum identified clear gaps in Mathematics, English, and in the teaching of Ghanaian culture and values. That matches what teachers and parents have been saying for years.
Children were completing Primary Six unable to read with understanding. Mathematics was taught as memorisation, not reasoning. And our history, civic values and culture were scattered across subjects, making them easy to skip.
The most significant policy shift is on language. The government has approved Ghanaian language as the medium of instruction from Kindergarten to Basic Three, with English taught as a subject with emphasis on play-based oral activity. This is backed by research.
Children learn to read faster and understand better when they start in a language they speak at home. Strong foundations in a Ghanaian language will accelerate English acquisition later, not hinder it. “Learners at this level will be taught to read in a Ghanaian language,” the Minister said. To make this work, GES must prioritise the recruitment of Ghanaian language teachers in the next cycle.
Traditional leaders, including those in Greater Accra, have been asking for this.
The Ministry must respond. At the same time, the curriculum expands foreign language exposure. Teaching of French, Arabic and now Chinese will start from Primary One instead of Primary Four. Arabic is now standardised from Primary One to Six.
Chinese is being introduced as an optional foreign language, with the Confucius Centre offering to pilot it in 10 schools with three teachers.
Other foreign languages are Spanish, Italian and German. Early exposure to modern foreign languages is not a luxury. It is preparation for trade, diplomacy, technology and migration in a global economy. A child who can speak Ga, Twi, English and Mandarin at age 12 has options their parents did not have.
Refreshingly, ethics and values have been “deliberately embedded” for teachers to teach and assess.
That is crucial. We can teach coding and still produce fraudsters if character is missing. We can teach science and still produce citizens who litter, cheat and disrespect public property. The Minister stated clearly: his legacy should be measured by “the moulding of character and the production of ethically responsible citizens with problem-solving minds.”
Subject overload has been a real problem. Parents complained, teachers complained, and children suffered. By integrating Agriculture and consolidating civics, the new curriculum reduces clutter and creates space for depth.
The focus on foundational literacy and numeracy is also urgent. If a child cannot read by Basic 3, they are unlikely to catch up.
If they fear Mathematics, they will avoid science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Early intervention is cheaper and more effective than remedial programmes later.
And in a world of AI and automation, computational thinking is no longer for computer scientists. It is for farmers who use drones, traders who use mobile money analytics, and artisans who use design software.
This reform has the bones of a good policy. It addresses gaps. It roots children in Ghanaian language and culture. It opens them to the world through new languages. It introduces future skills. And it puts character at the centre. But policy does not teach children. Teachers do. Books do. Schools do.
The Daily Graphic urges the Ministry and GES to move fast on three things: recruit and retrain teachers, print and distribute materials on time, and monitor classrooms to ensure the new assessment approach is real. We commend NaCCA for the work and the Minister for calling this his “single most important achievement.”
Let that achievement be measured not in press releases, but in a Primary Three pupil in Bawku who can read a story in Kusaal, solve a problem in Maths, and explain what it means to be a responsible Ghanaian citizen. That is the standard.
The curriculum is here. Now let the work begin.
