In a swift and decisive response to the African Chamber of Content Producers’ (ACCP) petition for mandatory constitutional literacy in basic education, President John Dramani Maham
The report indicates that in a swift and decisive response to the African Chamber of Content Producers’ (ACCP) petition for mandatory constitutional literacy in basic education, President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Ministry of Education to review the petition and take appropriate action.
It further notes that the directive was in a formal letter signed by Dr. Callistus Mahama, Secretary to the President, dated July 2, 2026, and addressed to the Minister of Education.
A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra stated the letter, which was copied to the ACCP Secretariat, acknowledged receipt of the petition submitted on June 25, 2026, and instructed the Ministry to act accordingly.
“The Ministry is requested to review the petition and take appropriate action on the petition.
The President’s response comes just one week after the ACCP submitted the petition, which called for the introduction of compulsory constitutional literacy into Ghana’s basic education curriculum.
The petition argued that the foundational legal principle “ignorance of the law is no excuse” must be matched by a corresponding duty of the state to ensure that every citizen is taught the supreme law that governs them.
According to the ACCP’s secretariat, their petition was not based on abstract theory but on extensive research conducted across prisons, schools, and communities in Ghana and other African countries.
The findings indicated a troubling reality: most Ghanaians complete their basic education without ever reading the Constitution, yet they can be arrested and imprisoned for violating laws they were never taught.
In interviews with several inmates across Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, the ACCP found that more than 50 per cent of inmates stated they did not know their action was illegal at the time of the offence. Only 10 percent stated they knew it was a crime and committed it anyway.
Among several students surveyed, over 60% of junior high students stated they had never been taught anything about their country’s constitution.
Among several adults interviewed, more than 70% had never read any part of their country’s constitution, and over 80 percent stated they navigate life by “being careful”, avoiding any situation that might attract legal trouble, because they do not know what the law actually says.
These findings underscored a fundamental contradiction: the state withholds legal knowledge from its citizens, punishes citizens for lacking that knowledge, and then claims this arrangement is just.
The ACCP Secretariat has therefore expressed gratitude to President Mahama for his responsiveness and commitment to addressing a matter that affects every citizen.
“We are immensely grateful that President Mahama is a listening president, one who is ready to act in the interest of the state and its people,” stated Nana Dwomoh-Doyen Benjamin, President of the ACCP.
