The Ministry of Education is to review the language policy which requires the use of Ghanaian language as the medium of expression in lower primary schools.
This is because it has been identified as a major factor in the poor performance of pupils in cosmopolitan and urban areas where these languages are frequently used in teaching. Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Minister of Education, announced this at the launching of the Global Week of Action on Education in Ghana at a ceremony in Accra yesterday.
The programme, which is being organised by the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC), is under the theme: "Promoting quality basic education". It is to bring a number of non-jovernmental organisations together to make education a global and national issue to be discussed at seminars, fora and conferences.
Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi said though experts have observed that the policy per se is not bad, it is being reviewed because its implementation has had many difficulties, resulting in many pupils finding it very difficult to express themselves in the English language. He said some of the teachers are also not fluent in the use of the local languages and this creates problems for the both teacher and pupil.
The minister declared that "there has to be a way of teaching local languages at the teacher trainee level to ensure that teachers will be trained to use the language as a medium of instruction to make a positive impact on the education of pupils". He said because the quality of education depends on the quality of teachers, who are turned out, the government has initiated policies to improve teacher training institutes, as well as provide teachers with better knowledge, skills, as well as incentives.
For instance, he said, the World Bank has provided funding for the construction of about 50 housing units in the rural areas to provide accommodation for teachers posted to such areas. Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi commended the organisers of the programme for their initiative and assured them of the ministry's support.
Reverend Dr R. Aboagye-Mensah, General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana and National Spokesperson of the coalition, said quality education is a fundamental right of every school going child and, therefore, called for the necessary steps to be put in place to make this a reality.
He said the aim of the coalition is to ensure that every child has access to quality education, equal opportunity for all, especially girls and the disabled. He said the education campaign is being conducted in collaboration with international organisations, such as Oxfam International, Action Aid, and UNICEF and it is to enable governments to provide quality education for children before the year 2015.
Mr Billy Abimbilla, Programme Manager, Action Aid Ghana, who gave an overview of the state of education in the Northern Region, said the region is faced with a shortage of qualified teachers since those posted there refuse to report. He called on the GES to sanction such teachers.
He also urged government and all stakeholders in education, to solicit the views of communities in which schools are located before policies are formulated, since such people may know of problems that are peculiar to the community and how they could be addressed.
