Ghana revises basic school curriculum to add AI, coding and citizenship education
Ghana’s NaCCA presented a revised basic school curriculum adding coding, AI literacy and Citizenship Education, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu said July 20-22, 2026.
Photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels
Ghana’s National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) presented a revised basic school curriculum to the Ministry of Education that introduces coding, computational thinking, and a foundation for artificial intelligence literacy from kindergarten through junior high school, NaCCA Executive Secretary Prof Samuel Ofori Bekoe said on July 22, 2026, according to MyJoyOnline. Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu had first announced the reform two days earlier, on July 20, 2026, at a press briefing in Accra, describing the document as a “smart start curriculum” intended to strengthen science, technology, engineering and mathematics teaching at the basic level, Graphic Online reported. The Ghana AI curriculum reform still requires approval from Cabinet and Parliament before it takes effect in classrooms.
Four structural changes to the curriculum
Prof Bekoe told the presentation that the review, carried out between March and July 2026, produced four major structural changes. The most prominent is a new, standalone Citizenship Education subject that consolidates civic knowledge, values and history, replacing content previously spread across several subjects. A second change integrates coding and computational thinking into both the Computing and Mathematics syllabuses; Prof Bekoe said Mathematics would introduce coding concepts as “quantitative thinking” while Computing would frame the same skills as “computational thinking,” giving learners “the basic skills that learners need to grasp the concept of coding and then automation and AI going forward.”
The revised curriculum also proposes Ghanaian languages as the medium of instruction from kindergarten to Primary Three, with English taught as a subject through play-based oral activity, and introduces Chinese as an optional foreign language in schools with trained teachers, alongside a newly standardised Arabic curriculum for Primary One to Six. The Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Coast has agreed to sponsor a 10-school pilot for Chinese-language teaching, Prof Bekoe said.
| Curriculum area | What changes |
|---|---|
| Citizenship Education | New standalone subject consolidating civic knowledge, values, attitudes and skills |
| Computing and Mathematics | Coding and computational thinking introduced as a foundation for automation and AI literacy |
| Language of instruction | Ghanaian languages become the medium of instruction from kindergarten to Primary Three |
| Foreign languages | Chinese introduced as optional (10-school pilot); Arabic curriculum standardised for Primary One to Six |
| Assessment | Formative, continuous classroom assessment made a core requirement |
Source: Prof Samuel Ofori Bekoe, Executive Secretary, National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, curriculum presentation reported by MyJoyOnline, July 22, 2026.
Timeline and next steps
Minister Iddrisu gave the Ghana Education Service (GES) one week from July 22, 2026, to review the document and bring it “to full implementation readiness and strict quality standards,” MyJoyOnline reported. Graphic Online reported that the curriculum still awaits submission to President John Dramani Mahama, Cabinet and Parliament for approval, and that neither the Ministry nor NaCCA had indicated when the new subjects would take effect in classrooms or how teachers would be trained to deliver coding, AI-related content and electronics. Ghana Business News confirmed the Ministry formally received the revised curriculum from NaCCA on July 23, 2026, corroborating the presentation date. Mr Iddrisu described the reform as the Ministry’s largest achievement in his 16 months in office and said it forms part of a wider push to direct more investment toward basic education, which he said had historically received less funding than secondary education.
Ghana’s move follows a wider pattern of national curriculum reforms introducing AI literacy and coding at the school level, including Egypt’s new AI competency framework for teachers and the OECD-EU AI literacy framework for schools, which set out competences that primary and secondary students should learn about artificial intelligence.
Background
NaCCA, the body responsible for developing and reviewing Ghana’s pre-tertiary curriculum under the Ministry of Education, launched the review that produced the revised curriculum in March 2026, engaging writers and reviewers across multiple subject areas to identify learning gaps, particularly in mathematics and Ghanaian languages. Minister Iddrisu had first signalled the plan to introduce AI, robotics, coding and electronics into basic education at a digital education conference in Accra in June 2026, ahead of the National Curriculum Review Committee completing its work the following month. The reform sits alongside other steps in Ghana’s education policy under President Mahama’s administration, including capitation grant payments and measures aimed at inclusive education that Iddrisu also addressed at the same July 20 briefing. With NaCCA’s presentation now complete and GES review underway, the curriculum’s next milestone is submission to Cabinet and Parliament, which will determine when Ghanaian classrooms begin teaching coding and AI-related content under the new structure.
Sources: MyJoyOnline; Graphic Online; Ghana Business News
Featured image: photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels (free Pexels license).
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I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
