By Christabel Addo, GNA
Accra, Oct. 03, GNA - The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) has called for the total abrogation of plans to introduce the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) into the Basic Schools’ Curriculum in the next academic year.
“We reject absolutely the inclusion of CSE in any form or name in our school curriculum now and in the future. We see the policy as a long term subtle agenda to target our young population with a liberal mindset to accepting and tolerating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) issues as a normal societal behaviour in the very near future.”
The Reverend Professor Paul Frimpong-Manso, President of the GPCC, made the call at a press conference in Accra on Thursday to state the Council’s position on the proposed implementation of CSE by the Ministry of Education (MoE).
He said the Council had followed with keen interest the Government’s latest response through the MoE and the promise to suspend the implementation of CSE, in spite of its earlier denial of its existence, and commended it for the latest decision.
The GPCC urged the Government to completely withdraw the Policy instead of a mere assurance of suspending its implementation to engender trust with the public and key stakeholders of education.
“Anything short of an assurance of complete withdrawal of the Policy and a promise never to introduce it in the very near future would not be accepted.”
“We shall not, as churches, parents and communities shirk our primary moral upbringing responsibilities to our children by allowing government and other external interest groups to dilute our long tested traditional values on sexuality….,” he said.
Rev. Prof. Frimpong-Manso urged Parliament to urgently commence the relevant processes to review aspects of the 2019 Budget Statement that committed state resources to funding the controversial CSE.
He recommend that the Government, through the MoE, immediately convened a genuine and transparent stakeholder dialogue at all levels, to facilitate the development of home grown solutions to the problems of sexuality within the context of the tried and tested religious and cultural moral values, without undue interference from any external donor agency.
He called on Ghanaians, especially the mission schools, the Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate Teachers, the Concerned Teachers Association and other like-minded stakeholders to remain vigilant and expose any attempt to pass the policy.
The Council was working closely with other ecumenical and interfaith groups through the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values to build a strong national resistance to the Policy and ensure its total withdrawal.
Rev. Prof. Frimpong-Manso assured the Government that the Council was committed to supporting it in all possible ways to realise the ultimate objective of a homegrown and Ghanaian-owned policy on sexuality devoid of all subtle external influence.
He said it was gratifying to note that Ghanaians were not alone in opposing the implementation of the CSE and cited churches and parents in Canada and other western countries who had forced their governments to back down on the issue.
He expressed the hope that the Government would further assure the country beyond suspension of the Policy to taking concrete steps for genuine dialogue with all partners to safeguard the future of children.
GNA
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