President John Dramani Mahama has called for the reintroduction of civic education in Ghana’s school curriculum as part of efforts to instill discipline and promote responsible sanitation practices among citizens.

Speaking during a presidential dialogue with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on Monday March 30, the President expressed concern over persistent poor waste disposal habits, noting that even when gutters are cleaned, they are quickly polluted again.

“However you clean the gutters, people will throw rubbish into them again. We need intensified education for people to understand, but we must also inculcate it in children from when they are young,” he stated.

President Mahama stressed the importance of shaping behaviour early, arguing that long-term change depends on educating children about proper conduct and civic responsibility.

He revealed that he has engaged the Minister for Education on plans to reintroduce civics as a formal subject, similar to what existed in the past.

“I spoke to the Education Minister to see how we can reintroduce civics in the curriculum so that we can teach our children from a young age what they should do and what they shouldn’t do,” he said.

Recounting his own upbringing, the President highlighted how civics education once played a key role in shaping behaviour, etiquette, and social responsibility.

According to him, pupils were provided with free civics textbooks by the state and were taught practical life skills, including:Proper waste disposal, table manners, respectful conduct in public spaces.

“They taught me before I got to secondary school how to eat with a fork and knife, how not to belch at the table, and not to talk with your mouth full,” he noted.

President Mahama underscored that Ghana’s sanitation challenges cannot be solved by infrastructure alone, insisting that mindset change through education is critical.