The Education Sector Policy Committee of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on President John Dramani Mahama to either apologise to Ghanaians or remove the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, over conflicting accounts regarding the introduction of Arabic and Chinese language programmes in Ghanaian schools.
The NPP committee said the President’s recent declaration that there was “absolutely no new policy” to introduce Arabic and Chinese into Ghana’s schools had created a serious contradiction, particularly in light of earlier statements and actions attributed to the Education Minister and institutions under his ministry.
According to the committee, the Education Minister publicly announced on April 24 that Chinese and Arabic would become compulsory foreign languages at the secondary school level and linked the policy to the President’s vision for education.
The committee further alleged that following the ministerial announcement, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) was instructed by the Ministry of Education to undertake related curriculum development.
It said about 160 writers and reviewers were subsequently engaged over several months to work on a revised curriculum that included Arabic and Chinese among foreign-language options.
The committee said the revised curriculum was presented to the Education Minister on July 22, 2026, after which he referred it to the Ghana Education Service (GES), directing the service to prepare for “full implementation readiness” and take early ownership of the programme.
It also cited a September 3 teacher-training exercise organised by NaCCA with support from the Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Coast, which it said was aimed at preparing teachers to implement the new Chinese language curriculum.
The NPP committee argued that these developments would reasonably have led the public to believe that the initiative had government backing.
“When the Minister responsible for education publicly attributes a policy direction to the President and advances it through the institutions under his authority, the reasonable conclusion is that he is acting with the authority of Government,” the committee said.
The committee said the President’s subsequent denial therefore raised questions about policy coordination and decision-making within the government.
It presented two possible explanations, arguing that if the Education Minister proceeded without presidential or Cabinet approval, he should be removed from office.
If, on the other hand, he acted with the knowledge or authority of the President or Cabinet, the President should apologise and provide an explanation to the public.
The NPP committee also questioned the expenditure associated with the curriculum development and teacher preparation exercises.
It asked why public resources had been committed to writers, reviewers, workshops, technical personnel, administrative processes and teacher training if, as the President stated, there was “absolutely no new policy.”
The committee further highlighted the President’s concerns about the availability of Chinese-language teachers, particularly amid existing shortages of French teachers.
It said the concern raised questions about why the policy process had already progressed through curriculum development, GES implementation preparations and teacher training.
The NPP committee, however, distinguished between Arabic and Chinese, noting that Arabic had already existed as an optional subject at the junior high school level before the current administration took office.
It said Chinese was different, pointing to what it described as a 2026 process that progressed from ministerial direction through curriculum development, presentation to the minister, implementation preparations and teacher training.
The committee said the controversy raised broader questions about ministerial authority and government policy coordination.
It argued that if a minister could announce a major policy, attribute it to the President, commit public institutions and resources to its development and move it towards implementation without the required approval, it could raise concerns about how other government decisions were being taken.
The NPP committee therefore called for clarity from the President on the matter, including an account of what was authorised, the expenditure incurred and the circumstances surrounding the conflicting public statements.
“The President cannot have it both ways,” the committee said, insisting that the matter should not simply be declared closed.
The statement was issued by the Education Sector Policy Committee of the New Patriotic Party.
