The Executive Director of the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS), Obenfo Nana Kwasi Gyetuah, has attributed the frequent changes in textbooks and other learning materials to what he describes as instability in Ghana’s education curriculum.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Mr Gyetuah said the issue had been a concern since 2018, arguing that Ghana previously maintained relatively stable curricula for much longer periods.
According to him, the curriculum introduced in 2005, which built on the 1993 version, remained largely in use until 2017, with only some additions and adjustments, including the introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
He said the situation changed from 2018, when several reviews and modifications to the curriculum resulted in repeated changes to textbooks and other learning materials.
“Our curriculum is not stable. We have had this conversation since 2018,” he said.
Mr Gyetuah explained that the frequent revisions make it difficult for parents to purchase textbooks with the expectation that they can be reused by younger siblings or retained for future use.
He said books could become outdated whenever the curriculum is reviewed, creating additional financial pressure for families.
The GNACOPS Executive Director also said frequent curriculum changes could create confusion because different curriculum requirements may call for different textbooks, even for pupils at the same level.
“If we were even going by the demands of the curriculum, then it means every child would even use a different book,” he said.
He further pointed to what he described as a mismatch between the implementation of the new curriculum and the availability of appropriate learning materials, resulting in schools having to introduce new textbooks regularly.
“We are implementing a new curriculum, but there is a mismatch. So every now and then, there are new textbooks.”
Mr Gyetuah said the situation places an additional financial burden on parents, particularly those with multiple children in school.
He therefore called on private schools to introduce measures to cushion parents against the cost of frequently changing textbooks, while urging government to take steps to ensure greater stability in the national curriculum.
“As private schools, we need to put in place measures to cushion the parents and the government also has a responsibility to ensure that our curriculum is stable.”
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