Accra: Member of Parliament for Ketu North, Eric Edem Agbana, has disclosed plans to formally petition the Ghana Education Service (GES) to review and withdraw copies of the Aki-Ola Junior High School Social Studies textbook over what he calls 'false and dehumanising content.'
According to Ghana Web, the lawmaker, who also serves on Parliament's Select Committee on Education, said he had come across extracts from the Aki-Ola Series Social Studies textbook that he found troubling. He noted that portions of the book attempt to outline what it describes as 'benefits Ghana has derived from colonization.' Agbana criticised the material, arguing that it presents colonisation in a way that appears to soften or even praise it, despite the severe harm it inflicted on Africans and Ghanaians.
He stated that such an approach risks misrepresenting history and undermining the lived experiences of those affected by colonial rule. 'At a time when President John Dramani Mahama is championing continental efforts toward reparations, it is deeply irresponsible to sanitize or glorify a painful chapter of our history,' he asserted.
The MP further characterised colonisation as inhuman and described it as a systematic violation of human rights, dignity, and identity. He cautioned against allowing what he views as distorted historical narratives to influence young learners in Ghana's classrooms. Edem Agbana said his petition to the GES will demand an urgent review of the textbook, the recall of existing copies, and the removal of perspectives he considers harmful from the national curriculum.
'Our education system must reflect truth, justice, and historical integrity. Not only that, our education must also sustain a perspective of history that does not deny the past of the Ghanaian, misstate the present, and undermine the hopeful future of the Ghanaian child,' he added.