Ghana authors and publishers organization issues an apology about contentious history textbook

The Ghana National Association of Authors and Publishers has acknowledged that a history book’s contents are inappropriate for its target audience of students because they attempt to illustrate certain drawbacks of Christian missionary activity in Ghana.

According to the text of the book “History of Ghana for Basic Schools, Learner’s book 4,” the existence of religion, particularly Christianity, was the root of Ghana’s growing poverty and theological disputes.

At a news conference in Kumasi, the association’s president, John Akwasi Amponsah, apologized and said the book’s listed contents represented the author’s opinions.

The issues presented in the book were the author’s thoughts or beliefs regarding the detrimental impacts of the Christian missionaries in Ghana, which the authors did well to discuss in the pages that before the page that sparked the debate. We do, however, partially acknowledge the error of content standards adherence and the appropriateness of the content for the level it was designed for,” he stated. 

After meticulously examining the page that was shared on social media, the association claims it found that the content was a response to STRAND 3, substrand 3 of the History Curriculum for Primary School – Missionary Activities in Ghana.

This necessitates that the author locates the Ghanaian missionary societies and explores the formal education system as well as other effects of Christian missionaries in Ghana, such as the creation of vocational training facilities.

The organization regarded a section of the curriculum requirement that focuses on discussing the impacts (benefits and drawbacks) of European activity in Ghana to be subjective to the author’s viewpoints. 

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The authors, we concede, should have stayed true to the requirements of the syllabus and highlighted the impact of Christian missionaries rather than religion as a whole, John Amponsah concluded. Regarding linguistic compatibility, we readily admit that the message’s intended audience was a little beyond the substance and expression style.

The book’s authors outlined some unfavorable consequences of Christian missionary work and claimed that the existence of Christianity has exacerbated poverty.

Some Christian parents were uncomfortable with the book’s content because it was written for basic 4 students.

A deputy minister for education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, also denounced the material in a tweet on May 25, 2023, calling it “obnoxious, appalling, and misconceived.”

He agreed with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment’s demand that the book be taken from the shelves.

Following its evaluation of the book in response to the comments, the Ghana National Association of Authors and Publishers acknowledged the error.

“We desire to accept the criticism of all parties in good faith and express our sincere regret to the Ministry of Education, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, Ghanaian Schools, Nananom, the Christian Council of Ghana, and any Ghanaians who find the statements offensive.  Ghanaians have trusted the authors of textbooks for a long time and value their contributions. We thus beg the Ghanaian people and all other stakeholders to continue placing their trust in our goods and services,’ he said.

The association additionally stated that it is creating an internal committee to conduct ongoing evaluation of the works of its members in order to prevent a repetition of similar blunders.

“We can no longer rely too heavily on editors. Because we can inflict harm and must take responsibility if the editor makes a mistake and the publisher does not notice and sends the information outside to print. We take responsibility. From now on, we as publishers will review everything after NaCCA has completed its work and handed it to editors, he said.

According to the group, it is still devoted to creating books for students that are of a better caliber.

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