GES, NaCCA must assume responsibility for ‘offensive Ewe’ textbooks – Ewe Youth Group
Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Concerned Ewe Youth group, Bright Atsu Agbesi says the group will not fold up their arms and watch publishers of text books encourage tribal bigotry and the re-writing of their history.
He made this comment after controversial textbooks promoting stereotypical comments about the ethnic group surfaced on the Ghanaian market.
This subsequently sparked criticism on social media from some Ghanaians, particularly Ewes.
The National Council for Curriculum Assessment (NaCCA) however says it has not approved the controversial textbooks and asked its publishers to withdraw the books from the market.
The Ewe Youth group says the statement from NaCCA is not enough and asked the Council to offer its unqualified apology to Ewes for the failure to ensure compliance of publishers.
Speaking in an interview on the Happy Morning Show aired on Happy98.9FM and e.TV Ghana with host, Samuel Eshun, Bright lamented, “The content of the book is wrong and as Ewes, we don’t want it to be a part of our history. We take offense to such sayings and they need to be nipped in the bud. The authorities, NaCCA and GES must not shift blame. It is their responsibility to provide oversight to these publishers and with the book being released into the public domain, it is no one’s fault but theirs”.
To him, the statement released by NaCCA is not enough to absorb them of their sins but they should take drastic measures against these publishers. “They should pick the books and rid them from the market”.
According to him, what has started with the Ewe people can very soon happen to the other ethnic groups in the country if it is not frowned on.
“We are giving these publishers and the authorities 14 days to remove the books from the market. If they fail to do so, we will embark on a nationwide demonstration, seize all the books and burn them”, he revealed.
In these books and others discovered on social media, the authors made inappropriate references to personalities and ethnic groups which are deemed unfortunate and distasteful and contradicts NaCCA’s Book Submission Guidelines.
The said books which are not listed on the Council’s website among other approved books for academic work described Ewes as inward-looking and forgiving to their tribesmen.
