<div dir="ltr"><div style id="stcpDiv"><h1 class="" itemprop="itemReviewed" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><span itemprop="name">Government to strictly enforce teaching in local languages</span></h1>
<span style="display:yes" class=""> Tuesday 16th June , 2015 11:02 am</span>
<div class="">
<img src="http://citifmonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2053_9489e6c11889fcb275044d14dda99d24_m.jpg" class="" alt="Prof Naana Opoku Agyeman" height="329" width="584">
</div>
<div class="">Prof Naana Opoku Agyeman</div>
<div class="">
<div class="">
<p class=""><span class=""><span class="" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,0,0);display:inline-block"><span><span style="background-image:url("http://w.sharethis.com/images/facebook_counter.png")" class=""> </span><span class=""><span style="display:inline-block" class=""><span class="">407</span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span class=""><span class="" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,0,0);display:inline-block"><span><span style="background-image:url("http://w.sharethis.com/images/twitter_counter.png")" class=""> </span><span class=""><span style="display:inline-block" class=""><span class="">5</span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span class=""><span class="" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,0,0);display:inline-block"><span><span style="background-image:url("http://w.sharethis.com/images/linkedin_counter.png")" class=""> </span><span class=""><span style="display:inline-block" class=""><span class="">1</span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span class=""></span></p><div style="display:inline-block;overflow:hidden;line-height:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:75px;height:21px"> </div><span class=""><span class="" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,0,0);display:inline-block"><span><span class=""><span style="display:inline-block" class=""><span class=""></span></span></span></span></span></span><p>The
Education Ministry will begin the strict enforcement of the use of
local languages as the sole medium of instruction in basic schools in
Ghana.</p>
<p>This is to support the $71 million learning project which aims at ensuring 80% of basic school pupils are able to read by 2020.</p>
<p>The Education Minister, Professor Naana Opoku Agyeman indicated that
only pupils from kindergarten one to primary three will be taught mainly
with the local languages.</p>
<div class="" id="contextly-9r7hUqIC9AjrKc0rLmZZ7wksGEHfhRCJ"><div class=""><div class=""><p>Related stories</p></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><a href="http://citifmonline.com/2015/06/15/new-project-to-improve-reading-of-2-8-million-pupils/#sthash.Cj141WVJ.dpbs" title="New project to improve reading of 2.8 million pupils" class=""><img src="http://resources.contextly.com/thumbnails/citifmonline/3655146/70x70.jpg"></a></div><div class=""><p><a href="http://citifmonline.com/2015/06/15/new-project-to-improve-reading-of-2-8-million-pupils/#sthash.Cj141WVJ.dpbs" title="New project to improve reading of 2.8 million pupils" class="">New project to improve reading of 2.8 million pupils</a></p></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><a href="http://citifmonline.com/2014/09/02/98-of-class-2-pupils-cant-read-english/#sthash.oSIQZqdz.dpbs" title="98% of class 2 pupils can’t read English" class=""><img src="http://resources.contextly.com/thumbnails/citifmonline/3655147/70x70.jpg"></a></div><div class=""><p><a href="http://citifmonline.com/2014/09/02/98-of-class-2-pupils-cant-read-english/#sthash.oSIQZqdz.dpbs" title="98% of class 2 pupils can’t read English" class="">98% of class 2 pupils can’t read English</a></p></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><a href="http://citifmonline.com/2014/09/02/prioritize-reading-educationist/#sthash.oPhejJEj.dpbs" title="Prioritize reading - Educationist" class=""><img src="http://resources.contextly.com/thumbnails/citifmonline/3655144/70x70.jpg"></a></div><div class=""><p><a href="http://citifmonline.com/2014/09/02/prioritize-reading-educationist/#sthash.oPhejJEj.dpbs" title="Prioritize reading - Educationist" class="">Prioritize reading - Educationist</a></p></div></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><a href="http://citifmonline.com/2015/04/26/theres-real-science-behind-reading-to-your-kids/#sthash.P1GG777H.dpbs" title="There’s real science behind reading to your kids" class=""><img src="http://resources.contextly.com/thumbnails/citifmonline/3655145/70x70.jpg"></a></div><div class=""><p><a href="http://citifmonline.com/2015/04/26/theres-real-science-behind-reading-to-your-kids/#sthash.P1GG777H.dpbs" title="There’s real science behind reading to your kids" class="">There’s real science behind reading to your kids</a></p></div></div></div></div></div></div>She
pointed out that the education sector “has traveled so far away from it
[policy] that we need long-term measures to bring it back and make it
effective,” adding that, “it important for the nation to “return to the
application and the practice of the local language policy that exist
already.”
<p>On Monday, the Education Ministry in collaboration with the USAID launched a <span style="color:rgb(102,102,153)"><strong><a style="color:rgb(102,102,153)" href="http://citifmonline.com/2015/06/15/new-project-to-improve-reading-of-2-8-million-pupils/" target="_blank">$71 million project</a></strong></span> called the Ghana Reading Action Plan (G-RAP).</p>
<p>The project will be implemented within a five-year period and it will
train 51,000 teachers who will be equipped to teach pupils to read.</p>
<p>In 2014, an early grade reading assessment revealed that <span style="color:rgb(102,102,153)"><strong><a style="color:rgb(102,102,153)" href="http://citifmonline.com/2014/09/02/98-of-class-2-pupils-cant-read-english/" target="_blank">only 2% of primary pupils could read</a></strong></span>; a situation which alarmed citizens who called for proactive and effective measures to improve the education system.</p>
<p>The G-RAP will thus help increase the number from 2% to 80%.</p>
<p><a href="http://citifmonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/11639709_10153099964323075_853757899_o.jpg"><img class="" src="http://citifmonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/11639709_10153099964323075_853757899_o.jpg" alt="11639709_10153099964323075_853757899_o" height="500" width="750"></a></p>
<div style="float:none;margin:10px 0px;text-align:center">
<ins class="" style="display:inline-block;width:728px;height:90px"><ins id="aswift_2_expand" style="display:inline-table;border:medium none;height:90px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:728px;background-color:transparent"><ins id="aswift_2_anchor" style="display:block;border:medium none;height:90px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:728px;background-color:transparent"></ins></ins></ins>
</div>
<p>The Education Minister indicated that the G-RAP is Ghana’s solution
to fixing the reading deficiency because “the mark of quality education
is the ability of the young learner to read.”</p>
<p>She pledged that her Ministry and the relevant stakeholders will
“continue to share in the common vision of enabling our young learners
acquire proficiency in literacy and numeracy especially at the
foundation level. Such allows for a solid basis for continued education
to the highest level possible.”</p>
<p><strong>Teaching pupils in English is punishment </strong></p>
<p>On his part, the Acting Director General of the Ghana Education
Service (GES), Jacob Kor said teaching basic school pupils in English is
an unfair punishment which does not bring out the true picture of the
children’s performance.</p>
<p>“We are punishing our children for no offence. That is not the true picture of our children’s performance,” he said.</p>
<p>He argued that the local language policy dates as far back as the colonial era.</p>
<p>“Even as far back as the colonial era, they started using local
languages to teach us and the performance was good and research has
abundant results that anybody who starts learning at the early age with
the local language does better in terms of income and life-long learning
as he grows.”</p>
<p>He warned that if care is not taken, Ghanaian children will end up being anglicized.</p>
<p>Mr. Kor argued that teaching both the pupils both in English and the local languages at the early stages is not recommended.</p>
<p>He was optimistic that the five-year project will tremendously improve the educational standards in Ghana.</p>
<p>The early grade reading assessment will now begin at primary four and
Mr. Kor is certain that by then, the students would have mastered the
local languages which will make the teaching and learning of the English
language easier.</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>By: Efua Idan Osam/<a href="http://citifmonline.com/Ghana">citifmonline.com/Ghana</a><br>
<a class="" href="https://twitter.com/osamidan">Follow @ osamidan</a></p></div></div>
- See more at:
<a href="http://citifmonline.com/2015/06/16/government-to-strictly-enforce-teaching-in-local-languages/#sthash.bf2vlA0Y.dpuf">http://citifmonline.com/2015/06/16/government-to-strictly-enforce-teaching-in-local-languages/#sthash.bf2vlA0Y.dpuf</a><br><br><a href="http://citifmonline.com/2015/06/16/government-to-strictly-enforce-teaching-in-local-languages/#sthash.bf2vlA0Y.dpbs">http://citifmonline.com/2015/06/16/government-to-strictly-enforce-teaching-in-local-languages/#sthash.bf2vlA0Y.dpbs</a><br></div><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
</div>