Alagumgube welcomes Gurene as BECE subject, calls for more teachers and learning materials

The Alagumgube Association has welcomed the move to make Gurenɛ an examinable subject at the 2027 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), describing it as an important development towards preserving the language, culture and identity of the people of the Upper East Region.

The Association has, however, called for increased investment in the teaching and learning of Gurenɛ, particularly through the recruitment of qualified teachers and the provision of adequate learning materials to schools.

The call follows growing attention to the teaching of Gurenɛ in basic schools, with the language expected to feature as an examinable subject from the 2027 BECE.

Alagumgube has been actively involved in efforts to strengthen Gurenɛ education. On September 18, 2026, the Association donated 260 Gurenɛ language books to the Upper East Regional Education Directorate to support teaching and learning in basic schools across the region.

Speaking on behalf of the Association during the presentation, Abraham Adoctor Giba said the development of Gurenɛ must become a collective responsibility involving educators, traditional authorities, parents, language experts and other stakeholders.

He said education should not only focus on academic knowledge but also play a role in preserving the identity, culture and heritage of communities.

According to him, people often think and express their deepest ideas in their mother tongue before interpreting them into other languages, making the promotion of indigenous languages an important part of education.

The Association said the 260 books donated to the Regional Education Directorate represented a contribution towards addressing the shortage of Gurenɛ learning materials in schools. It acknowledged that the materials were not enough to meet the needs of all schools but described the intervention as a seed that could lead to wider support in the future.

Alagumgube therefore called for the recruitment and deployment of more qualified Gurenɛ teachers to ensure that pupils receive effective instruction ahead of the 2027 BECE.

The Association also urged education authorities to ensure that schools are supplied with sufficient textbooks, teacher manuals and other instructional materials to support the effective teaching of the language.

The call is consistent with concerns raised over the years about the need to strengthen Gurenɛ education. Gurenɛ has long been part of Ghana's recognised Ghanaian-language education framework, with teaching and learning resources developed for the language. The Ministry of Education's curriculum resource platform currently provides Gurenɛ teacher manuals and learner materials.

Alagumgube said making Gurenɛ examinable should go beyond preparing pupils for an examination and should help create a generation capable of reading, writing and communicating effectively in their indigenous language.

The Association has also previously advocated for stronger implementation of Ghanaian languages in schools, arguing that indigenous languages require adequate teacher recruitment, training and teaching materials.

It called on government, the Ghana Education Service, traditional authorities, parents, teachers, language experts and community organisations to work together to ensure the successful implementation of Gurenɛ education.

Alagumgube said preserving Gurenɛ was ultimately a collective responsibility, stressing that teaching the language to children was an important way of passing cultural heritage from one generation to another.