NaCCA rejects reports of Confucius Institute teacher-training partnership

Pinned summary · as of 16:45

Ghana's National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) has pushed back on publications linking it to a Chinese-language teacher-training programme at the University of Cape Coast. In a press statement dated 16 September 2026, the council said no formal tie-up exists between it and the Confucius Institute there.

What we know

• NaCCA rejected media claims of a joint effort with UCC's Confucius Institute aimed at preparing teachers for a Chinese Language Curriculum, calling those reports inaccurate.
• The council stated that it neither ran, funded, commissioned nor approved the Confucius Institute programme as an official scheme for training teachers.
• According to NaCCA, it never set up or gave a mandate to any delegation to take part in the programme for it.
• NaCCA explained that its staff members who attended were there in a personal capacity, as participants or resource persons, and did not represent the council.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  The Vaultz News reported that NaCCA said the involvement of individual staff should not be taken as proof of an official programme, partnership, endorsement or policy position; this was reported by only one publication.
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  The Vaultz News reported that NaCCA asked media houses that presented the programme as a joint NaCCA and Confucius Institute initiative to correct their reporting, and that it said the programme does not launch any new national policy on teaching Chinese in Ghanaian schools. Other reports have not repeated this.
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  According to The Vaultz News, NaCCA added that national curriculum policy is made through statutory, policy and stakeholder-consultation processes and announced through official channels, and that it will keep informing the public on the curriculum and assessment framework. This has not been confirmed elsewhere.
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  The Vaultz News also recalled that opposition figures earlier charged the government with inconsistent policy on proposals to teach Arabic and Chinese in public schools, citing what looked like contradictory remarks by the Education Ministry, the Ghana Education Service and the Presidency. No other report has confirmed the charge.

Why it matters for Ghana

Parents, teachers and school heads in Ghana have been watching for signals on which foreign languages could enter the classroom. NaCCA's clarification tells teachers that attending a Confucius Institute event does not amount to an approved national training route. It also shows that questions about a Chinese-language curriculum remain live in public debate.