Teaching of Ghanaian languages advocated
Professor Kofi Asare Opoku, of the African University College of Education, on Thursday called for the use Ghanaian languages as the medium of instruction in schools.
“An education that makes children ignorant of their own languages and culture cannot be described as quality education. An education that enables children to know more about others than about their own selves is defective,” he said.
Prof Opoku, who was the guest speaker at the Ashaiman Municipality 2012 and 2013 best teacher/worker awards ceremony, said in spite of the fact that English enable Ghanaians to communicate with the outside world, children are deprived of their God-given heritage because they do not know their own mother tongues, neither are they educated in them.
“A whole world of knowledge and idea is therefore, irretrievably, closed to them: and this severely detracts from the quality of education that our children are entitled to by right.”
More than 30 teachers received various prizes and citations for excelling in and out of the classroom at the ceremony which was on the theme: “Quality Education-the role of the 21 Century teacher.”
The Professor said he is not proposing the rejection of the study of foreign languages and cultures in Ghanaian schools “but I believe that our children would be better off if they are taught their own Languages and culture in addition to learning foreign language and culture”.
He said it may be difficult to teach in local languages but “unless we are prepared to undertake difficult tasks for our own sake, we must be prepared to be consigned to miserable insignificance among the peoples of the world”.
According to the Prof Opoku :”It is important for us to look for fresh and conscious identity and lofty dignity in our traditions. And both reason and destiny call on us to find our own way: for to settle for merely copying others and following other peoples beaten path, is to commit irreversible cultural suicide.”
He called on the Ghanaian society to develop a larger, inspiring and far-seeing vision so that Ghanaian children would inherit unbounded hope and not pitiful despair.
Mrs Pamela Gaituah, Municipal Director of Education, said the award winning process was long, elaborate and fair.
According to her, persons selected are supposed to have taught for not less than five years, must have a good character worthy of emulation and must have involved themselves in communal activities which must have had a positive influence on the life style of the community among other considerations.
Source: GNA