Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has charged the newly constituted Governing Board of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) to help improve the quality of textbooks approved for use.

The Authority had recently come under criticism for allegedly approving some textbooks for primary schools, the content of which was described as unwholesome.

Swearing in the new board in Accra on Thursday, Dr Adutwum urged them to ensure that only books with the right educational content were approved by the Authority.

“The President selected you to lead the charge in curriculum development. Consequently, a lot is expected of you. NaCCA, your name should speak the language of education and your role should be clear to everyone.

“The quality of books that come out from your outfit should be such that nobody should have doubt about it. Your reputation is on the line when we find in textbooks irrelevant materials, some materials that you don’t expect to see any textbook for that matter,” he said.

The nine-member Board, chaired by Professor Kwame Osei Kwarteng, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, UCC, has Mr John Mensah Anang, the Director-General of NaCCA, Dr Christian Addai-Poku of the National Teaching Council (NTC) and Dr Samuel Awinkene Atintono, Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, as members.

The rest are Madam Haggar Hilda Ampadu of the National Schools Inspectorate Authority, Dr Eric Yeboah from the Ghana Book Development Council, and three pending members from the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service and the West African Examination Council.

Dr Adutwum said Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education remained high on government’s agenda.

To achieve that, he said the government had, over the past years, undertaken many reforms and initiatives to ensure total transformation of the education space.

The Minister urged the Board to digitalise the evaluation of textbooks brought to the Authority to facilitate the process and reduce the human-to-human contact.

He commended the outgone board for developing the common code programme curriculum and called on the new one to drive that agenda using the pre-tertiary curriculum to better the educational system.

The Minister also inaugurated an 11-member Board of the National Schools Inspectorate Authority, chaired by Professor Eugene K. M. Dartey.

The members are Dr Charles Yeboah and COP Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, the Minister’s nominees; Madam Haggar Hilda Ampadu, the Inspector-General of Schools; Dr Christian Addai-Poku, NTC and Mr John Mensah Anang, the Director-General of NaCCA.

The rest are Dr Damasus Tuurosong, Ghana National Association of Private Schools; Mr Anthony Boateng, Ghana Education Service; Mr Victor de Graft-Etsien, Ghana National Association of Teachers, and two pending members from WAEC and TVET.

Dr Adutwum urged the Board to focus more on underperforming and underdeveloped schools to ensure efficient distribution of resources to better their performances.

“I need you to prioritise schools where there is a great sense of urgency that if nothing happens the future of those children will be in dire straight, Of course, schools in this country are comparatively doing very well but the President’s vision is that we create a 21st-century school system, a system where we will be competitive with the rest of the world and not just be the best in Africa.”