‎"Apologise or Sack Him": NPP Demands Action Against Education Minister Over Arabic-Chinese Language Row ‎

Ghana's main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has issued a stark ultimatum to President John Dramani Mahama: either publicly apologise to Ghanaians or dismiss Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, following a widening controversy over conflicting government statements on introducing Chinese and Arabic language studies into the country's school curriculum.

What Sparked the Dispute
The controversy traces back to April 24, 2026, when Iddrisu announced that Chinese and Arabic would become compulsory foreign languages at the secondary school level, presenting the move as part of President Mahama's broader education vision.

That announcement was followed by concrete curriculum work: the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) engaged roughly 160 writers and reviewers over several months to develop a revised curriculum incorporating the two languages.

According to the NPP, that revised curriculum was formally presented to Iddrisu on July 22, 2026. Rather than rejecting it, the Minister reportedly referred the document to the Ghana Education Service (GES) with instructions to bring it to "full implementation readiness" and begin preparing for its rollout in schools.

As recently as September 3, 2026, NaCCA with support from the Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Coast ran a training programme to prepare teachers to deliver the new Chinese language curriculum.

Where the Contradiction Emerged
The trouble began when President Mahama publicly denied that any such policy existed. According to the NPP, Mahama stated last week that there was "absolutely no new policy" on introducing Arabic and Chinese into Ghanaian schools a position the party says directly contradicts the trail of ministerial statements, curriculum development, and teacher training that had already taken place under his own government.

Mahama also reportedly voiced scepticism about the practicality of the policy, questioning where Ghana would find enough Chinese language teachers when the country is already struggling with a shortage of French teachers a concern the NPP argues sits awkwardly next to the fact that curriculum development and teacher training had already progressed as far as they had.

Government officials subsequently clarified that Arabic and Chinese would be optional, not compulsory, at the basic school level. The NPP says that clarification does not resolve the contradiction, since Iddrisu's original April announcement specifically referred to the languages becoming compulsory at the secondary school level, not the basic level the government's clarification addressed.

The NPP's Ultimatum
In a statement issued on September 16, 2026, by the party's Education Sector Policy Committee, the NPP laid out the choice starkly: "If the Minister announced and pursued this policy without presidential and Cabinet approval, the President must sack him. If, however, the Minister acted with the authority or knowledge of the President or Cabinet, then the President must apologise to the Ghanaian people for denying a policy his Government had already set in motion."

The party was careful to distinguish between the two languages at the centre of the row. It noted that Arabic was already available as an optional subject at the junior high school level even before the current administration took office, meaning its inclusion is not entirely new.

Chinese, by contrast, is framed by the NPP as part of a genuinely new 2026 process one involving curriculum development, ministerial review, implementation preparation, and dedicated teacher training making the disconnect between the President's denial and the ministry's actions harder to explain away.

The NPP argues the dispute now extends well beyond the specific question of which languages Ghanaian students should study, raising broader questions about policy coordination, ministerial authority, and accountability within the Mahama government with parents, teachers, school administrators, and taxpayers, in the party's view, entitled to a clear and consistent answer.

The Government's Response
The Education Ministry has pushed back forcefully against the NPP's broader criticism of its education record. Deputy Education Minister Dr. Clement Abas Apaak dismissed the opposition's attacks as "lies and propaganda," and said the ministry intended not just to counter the NPP's claims but to highlight what he characterised as the shortcomings of the previous NPP administration's own record on education, arguing the current government would not take governance advice from those he blamed for the sector's existing problems.

A Broader Pattern of Pressure on Ministers

The Education Ministry is not the only government body facing sacking demands this week. Separately, National Chairman of the People's National Party (PNP), Janet Nabla, has called for the immediate dismissal of the head of the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) over chaos in this year's senior high school placement process, describing the unit's leadership as failing Ghanaian families and calling for a broader clean-up of its staff.

What Happens Next
As of publication, President Mahama had not issued a further public response specifically addressing the NPP's ultimatum. The dispute leaves Ghana's education stakeholders including parents preparing for the next academic year and teachers who have already undergone specialised training waiting for clarity on whether Chinese and Arabic language instruction will proceed as originally announced, and on whether the political fallout from the contradiction will extend to changes in the Education Ministry's leadership.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,

International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. ( USIP)

[email protected]
+233555275880

Sources
Ghanaian Times, "NPP demands apology or sacking of Education Minister over Arabic, Chinese language controversy," September 17, 2026

MyJoyOnlineMyJoyOnline, "NPP demands apology or dismissal of Haruna Iddrisu over Chinese, Arabic language policy dispute"

Adomonline.com, "NPP demands apology or dismissal of Education Minister over Arabic, Chinese language policy"

The Ghana Report, "NPP demands apology or dismissal of Haruna Iddrisu over Chinese, Arabic language policy dispute"

abcnewsgh.com, "Apologise or Sack Haruna Iddrisu Over Chinese, Arabic Language Policy Controversy – NPP Tells Mahama"

Rainbow Radio Online, "'We'll expose their shameless hypocrisy' – Dr Apaak fires back at NPP over education criticism"

Rainbow Radio Online, "PNP demands immediate sack of CSSPS boss over High School placement chaos"