The government of Ghana has announced that all teachers must now use local languages as the main medium of instruction at the basic school level.
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu revealed the new policy on Friday October 24. calling it a decisive step toward improving learning outcomes and protecting Ghana’s cultural identity.
“From today, teacher use of mother-tongue instruction is now compulsory in all Ghanaian schools,” he declared.
This shift challenges decades of English dominance in Ghana’s education system.
The idea behind the policy isn’t new, and already has strong global backing.
Research by UNESCO and the World Bank has long shown that children learn faster and more confidently when taught in their mother tongue, especially during their early years of schooling.
For Ghana’s government, the policy is also about cultural empowerment. After generations of using English, a colonial inheritance, as the language of instruction, officials say it’s time to reconnect education with identity.
This idea is also gaining momentum in countries like South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania.
This plan is likely to come with many challenges.
The west African nation is home to more than 70 languages, with about 11 officially recognised for education and broadcasting including Akan (Twi and Fante), Ewe, Ga, Dagbani, Nzema, and Gonja.
So how do you pick one language in a classroom where half the students might speak another?
Urban areas like Accra and Kumasi are especially diverse, with children from multiple ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. The government has said schools will teach in the “dominant local language” of the area, but that’s not always easy to define.
(African News)
