By Stanley Senya
Accra, Oct. 3, GNA – The Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) has called on government to ensure that the ongoing review of Ghana’s Standards-Based Curriculum (SBC) incorporates a gender-transformative approach that empowers both boys and girls while promoting positive societal values.
Mr. Kofi Asare, Executive Director of Eduwatch, speaking at the presentation and findings of gender transformative review of the
Standards-Based Curriculum in Accra, said that, although progress had been made in making textbooks more gender-responsive, important gaps remained in how gender roles were portrayed and taught across subjects.
He said depictions of women as doctors and pilots, and men in nurturing roles, reflected improvements, but stressed that the curriculum still leaned heavily on gender neutrality rather than gender transformation.
According to him, neutrality alone often concealed systemic inequalities instead of challenging them.
“Our textbooks show more balanced images than before, but many roles are still presented as gender neutral rather than transformative. As we deepen values education in this review, we must ensure it empowers boys and girls to be assertive, confident, respectful and empathetic,” he said.
The review, supported by Oxfam through the Danida SP II Project, assessed curriculum frameworks, textbooks and teaching practices against gender-responsiveness benchmarks.
It found that while the SBC promoted inclusivity in principle, it lacked intentional strategies to challenge stereotypes or foster empowerment in learners.
The study revealed that at the kindergarten level, girls were still often socialised into obedience and domesticity, while opportunities for leadership and assertiveness were limited.
It also found that female role models, especially in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, were largely absent from textbooks, while boys were not explicitly encouraged to embrace positive masculinity or act as allies in advancing gender equality.
Mr. Asare said the curriculum, which is due for its mandatory five-year review, had rightly prioritised values education.
However, he cautioned that values such as patriotism, empathy, self-confidence and respect would only have meaning if they were taught in a gender-transformative way.
He stressed that education reform was not only about classroom content but also about ensuring that values were accepted and reinforced at the community level.
“If a teacher teaches assertiveness and empowerment in the classroom, but at home a girl is silenced, then the values will not survive. Parents, traditional authorities and PTAs must therefore be part of this transformation,” he said.
Mr. Asare urged the Ministry of Education and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment to engage chiefs, elders, parents and cultural custodians in the review process to ensure broad ownership of gender-progressive values.
He explained that without such support, even the best-designed curriculum would struggle to achieve impact.
He further noted that the success of the reforms would depend on how teachers were equipped to apply gender-responsive pedagogy.
“Curriculum is not just about content but how it is taught. Teachers need guidance and training, and communities must be ready to embrace what schools promote. Otherwise, it will not be education, and it will not be progress,” he said.
The Eduwatch Executive Director added that the lifestyle and attitudes of today’s guardians mirrored what past curricula had produced, and that future reforms must therefore be deliberate in shaping more equitable and progressive generations.
“The values that the new curriculum places premium on must be values that empower both boys and girls to become disciplined, confident and empathetic citizens. If we want a future that is more equitable, then our curriculum and communities must reflect those values together,” Mr. Asare said.
GNA
Christian Akorlie