I have been following and reading the current debate in Ghana with keen interest, and what strikes me most is how much energy is being spent on silencing knowledge instead of strengthening education.

The current debate is about schools, rights, and culture sparked by a Senior High School (SHS) manual introduced by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA).

That manual, which included a definition of gender identity, was quickly withdrawn after public backlash. Yet the uproar over a single page has turned into a national storm, raising a bigger question: are we preparing our children for the world they already live in, or are we shielding them from it?

This is not just about one manual. It’s about the kind of future we want for Ghana’s students, whether we empower them with clarity and confidence, or leave them confused and unprepared.

Parliament debates culture, but students already face the world and deserve the right to learn.

The Manual Controversy

1. The manual was part of Year Two Physical Education and Health Elective.
2. It included a definition of gender identity.
3. The Minority in Ghana’s Parliament and opposing voices accused NaCCA of sneaking LGBTQ+ ideas into schools and demanded leaders be fired.
4. NaCCA admitted it was an oversight, apologized, and recalled all copies.

But here’s the real question: if a single definition can cause such uproar, what does that say about our confidence in education?

As Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, reminded us: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

The University of Ghana Controversy: Higher Learning Under Fire

Even the University of Ghana, our country’s top university, has not escaped this backlash.

Recently, some people including an astute Lawyer, Moses Foh-Amoaning, a well-known advocate for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, had publicly criticised the University’s 2024 statute revisions, alleging that they formed part of a broader agenda to normalise LGBTQ+ activities within Ghana’s premier academic institution.

The school in a statement said claimed that the school had changed its rules to promote LGBTQ+ activities. The university quickly came out to say the claims were “false, misleading, and defamatory.”

Management explained that the changes made in 2024 were only about language. Instead of

repeating “he” or “she” over and over, they replaced those words with “they” and “their.” This was simply to make the statutes easier to read and more inclusive of both men and women. It had nothing to do with promoting LGBTQ+ issues.

To prove the point, the university even gave examples from the New International Version (NIV) Bible, which has used “they/them” in English since 2011. They also reminded the public that no vice-chancellor can change the statutes alone, and condemned attempts to attack the vice- chancellor personally.

The university has asked for a retraction and apology, warning that it may take legal action if the false claims continue. This shows that the fear of knowledge is not only affecting basic and senior high schools, it has reached even our highest level of education, which should worry us all.

As Albert Einstein, a German-born Theoretical physicist and 1921 Nobel Prize Laureate, once said: “Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth”

The PRESEC Controversy: Media Remarks and Public Reaction

The debate has also spilled into everyday conversations in the media. In January 2026, lawyer and TV personality Serwaa Amihere said on air that Presbyterian Boys’ Senior High School

(PRESEC), Legon, was a “breeding ground for homosexuals.”

Her comment spread quickly online and angered many people, especially the school’s

management and old students. PRESEC released a statement calling the remark “false, reckless, and offensive.” They said it unfairly painted the school in a bad light and ignored its long tradition of discipline, academic excellence, and moral training.

After the backlash, Serwaa Amihere apologized. She explained that the comment was made jokingly during casual banter and was not meant to be taken seriously. She expressed regret to the PRESEC community and promised it would not happen again.

This incident shows how sensitive the issue has become. Even a casual joke can damage the reputation of a respected school and stigmatize its students. It reminds us that the debate is not only about laws and manuals, it is also about how we talk about schools and young people in public.

As Maya Angelou, American poet, singer, and civil rights activist, wisely said: “Words are things.

They get on the walls. They get in your wallpaper. They get in your rugs, in your upholstery, and your clothes, and finally in to you.” Let’s choose our words wisely and use them to uplift and empower ourselves and others.

Looking Back: What We Studied in School

1. Puberty: Learning about body changes.
2. Adolescence: Understanding emotions and responsibility.
3. Life skills: Decision-making and problem-solving.
4. Reproductive health basics: Staying safe and healthy.
5. Civic education: Rights, responsibilities, and democracy.
6. Religious and Moral Education (RME): Values like honesty and respect.
7. History: Ghana’s past and independence.
8. Social Studies: Culture, governance, and citizenship.

These subjects were never seen as dangerous to the up bring of Ghanaian studies, they helped us grow. If we trusted education to shape us then, why don’t we trust it now?

Students Already Know-Thanks to the Internet

Young people already see these issues online every day. Pretending they don’t exist doesn’t protect them – it only leaves them unprepared.

Let’s be honest: do we really believe banning a manual will erase what students already see online and famous applications such as TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube? As Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate from Ghana, once said: “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.”

Lessons from the 8th Parliament

1. MPs passed the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021.
2. It aimed to criminalize LGBTQ+ activities, advocacy, and funding.
3. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo didn’t sign it before Parliament dissolved, so the bill expired.

So what was gained? A headline, a debate, and then silence.

The Role of the 9th Parliament: Focus on Real Priorities

Instead of criminalizing knowledge, Parliament should rather focus on Ghana’s real problems:

1. Unemployment in Ghana- Graduates struggling to find jobs.
2. Healthcare- hospitals under-resourced, citizens unable to afford care.

• Infrastructure- roads, housing, and transport need urgent work.
• Economy-inflation and debt hurting families.
• Education quality- overcrowded classrooms and underpaid teachers.
• Poverty/Hunger- people going to bed without eating due to poverty

Ask yourself, which matters more, stopping a student from reading a definition, or fixing the roads they walk on to school?

Why It Matters: The Importance of Students Learning These Topics

When schools teach these subjects responsibly, students gain:

1. Clarity, instead of confusion from social media or hearsay.
2. Confidence, to understand themselves and respect others.
3. Protection, against misinformation, bullying, and exploitation.
4. Skills, to make informed decisions about health, relationships, and citizenship.
5. Empowerment, to know their rights and responsibilities in society.

As Dr. Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President and Founding Father of independence, declared: “We shall measure our progress by the number of children in school, and by the quality of their education.”

The Role of the Clergy

Clergy are powerful voices in Ghana. Churches and mosques shape moral values and influence public opinion. Many religious leaders oppose LGBTQ+ education, fearing it undermines culture. But they also have a responsibility: to guide young people with compassion, not fear.

As Pope Francis, current head of the Roman Catholic Church, has said: “The dignity of every person is not based on ideology, but on the reality that we are all children of God.”

The Role of Traditional Leaders

Chiefs and elders are custodians of culture. Their voices matter in communities where tradition defines identity. By supporting balanced education, traditional leaders can help bridge the gap between modern realities and cultural values.

Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President, reminded us: “The best way to learn is to live the reality of our culture, but also to embrace knowledge that moves us forward.”

The Role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)

CSOs in Ghana are split. Some campaign against LGBTQ+ education, while others push for inclusive curricula funded by international partners. Their role is vital: they lobby government, educate communities, and hold leaders accountable.

As Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady of the United States and Chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, once said: “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small

places, close to home.”

The Role of the International Community

Global organizations argue that inclusive education saves lives. They highlight how denying knowledge can lead to bullying, stigma, and even violence.

Amnesty International (global) warns that criminalizing identity and blocking education violates international human rights law. The Human Rights Watch (US) has also cautions that censorship leaves young people vulnerable to bullying and misinformation.

Apart from them, Outright International (US): emphasizes that inclusive education can reduce isolation and suicide among LGBTQ+ youth.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (global) promotes Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) as a tool to equip students with life skills, respect, and resilience.

The United Nations Human Rights Council (global) urges Ghana and other nations to align education policies with international treaties that protect children’s rights.

As Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and global education activist, said: “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”

Recognized Organizations Defending Students’ Rights

Across Ghana, Norway, Canada, and the United States where I’ve lived studied and work respectively, powerful organizations stand against any hindrance to students learning about their rights:

In Ghana, the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) defends democracy and civic education, opposing censorship in schools.

In Norway, the Norwegian Organisation for Sexual and Gender Diversity (FRI) campaigns for inclusive education and equality in Norway.

Again in Canada, one of the vibrant organization, Egale Canada, the country’s leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group, pushing for safe and inclusive schools worldwide.

Whiles, GLSEN in the United States, fights for safe, inclusive schools and opposes restrictions on rights-based learning.

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, said: “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”

• My Position

As a journalist with over a decade of experience, I am against any law that stops students from studying or learning their rights. Ghana’s future depends on confident, informed citizens, not fearful ones.

Fear never built a nation. Knowledge did. As Ralph Waldo Emerson, American philosopher and essayist, put it: “The secret in education lies in respecting the student.”

Conclusion

The uproar over Ghana’s gender manual is about more than one definition. It’s really about the kind of future we want for our children.

We grew up learning about puberty, adolescence, life skills, civic education, RME, History, and Social Studies, and those lessons shaped us. So why should today’s students be denied the same chance to understand themselves and the world around them?

The truth is, young people already see these issues online every day. Pretending they don’t exist doesn’t protect them, it only leaves them unprepared. Schools should be the place where they get clear, responsible guidance, not silence.

The bigger lesson from Parliament is simple: politics can undo bills and manuals, but it should never undo the right to learn. Ghana has urgent problems, jobs, healthcare, housing, the economy and those deserve our leaders’ full attention.

So let’s stop criminalizing knowledge. Let’s stop treating education like a threat.

As Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and former UN Secretary-General, said: “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family”.

As Immanuel Kant, a pivotal German philosopher, once said: “Sapere aude!” translated as “Dare to know!” or “Have courage to use your own understanding!”