The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has reaffirmed the government’s stance on the definition of sex, stressing that it must strictly refer to biological sex and the sex of a person at birth.
According to him, there should be no ambiguity within Ghana’s education system on how sex is defined. “Regarding the definition of a man as in a man, a woman as in a woman, as in biological sex, and sex means biological sex. Reference to man, woman, sex means reference to the biological sex and the sex of a person at birth, settled,” he said.
Mr Iddrisu made the clarification during a training programme in Tamale on the Ghanaian Youth Handbook and the rollout of the Guidance and Counselling (G&C) framework, following public debate over content in certain educational materials.
He emphasised that all teaching and learning resources must reflect this position clearly. “So, in every educational literature in Ghana, must reflect sex. So there should be no ambiguity whatsoever in the definition of a man, a woman, and sex. For our purposes, the sex of a person at birth holds,” he said.
The Minister explained that this approach is rooted in Ghana’s cultural values and social norms. “That depicts and reflects Ghanaian values and our norms. And that is how we want to bring up all Ghanaian learners in an environment that they appreciate,” he said, adding that “the morality of our society rests in the extent to which they uphold these values.”
He noted that the Ministry of Education has already taken corrective steps to address inconsistencies in existing materials. “So I thought that I should use your forum to respond to this. And we have accordingly corrected it. So reference to a man, woman, and sex is reference to a biological sex,” he stated.
Mr Iddrisu further directed that all future publications by the Ministry and the Ghana Education Service must comply with this definition. “Forward, every publication of the Ministry of Education and the GES, and to all heads of institutions involved in the educational space, must respect this natural definition of sex and the natural definition of a man and a woman. Nothing more,” he said.
He stressed that the focus should remain on what benefits the country and its learners. “What is important is to answer the question, what is it that is good for Ghana, and good for Ghanaian teachers, and good for Ghanaian learners?” he asked.
The Minister disclosed that he had instructed the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) to take full responsibility for the matter and act swiftly. “I’ve asked NaCCA, the institution responsible, to take full responsibility for the controversy and to remedy it with urgency,” he said.
According to him, NaCCA has acknowledged that parts of the manual did not reflect Ghanaian values. “I’m told that NaCCA has determined that the definition of gender identity contained in the manual is not reflective of Ghanaian values and culture and our norms,” he said.
He outlined immediate measures taken, including the recall of printed copies of the affected material. “Directed that a recall of all the 736 physically printed copies of the year two physical education and health elective teacher manual for senior high schools,” he said, adding that a revised version has been uploaded online.
Teachers were cautioned not to rely on hard copies. “The online correction has been done appropriately, so nobody should be relying on their hard copies,” he stated.
Mr Iddrisu also reminded stakeholders that the national curriculum is dynamic and regularly updated.“The curriculum is dynamic and regularly updated to reflect current standards and trends,” he said.
He advised teachers and the public to rely on the official online platform for the most current materials.“All revisions and updates will be reflected in the online version available at www.curriculumresources.edu.gh . So when you go there, you will know what is applicable, what must be instructive, and what must be in use.”
The Minister’s clarification follows a nationwide controversy over a teacher support manual published by NaCCA. The Year 2 Physical Education and Health (Elective) Teacher Manual, developed in 2024 to support the new Senior High School curriculum, included a definition of “gender identity” that critics argued did not reflect Ghanaian cultural values and norms.
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