Include traditional practice into school curriculum

Prof Kofi Asare Opoku, Vice President of the Institution Advancement of the African University College of Communication, on Friday called on stakeholders in the education sector to include the nation's rich traditional beliefs and practices into the curriculum.

“Some countries like Malaysia, Japan and China have chalked lots of successes in all spheres of life because they appreciated and used their culture to develop their nations,” he said.

“Our education does not help promote our culture but, I believe if we start teaching pupils these culture from the onset, they will be better informed as to why some of the rich traditions are needed for development”, Prof Opoku Asare said at an inaugural lecture on non-verbal communication organized by the African University College of Communication in Accra.

He said one of the major reasons why the African continent was retrogressing was the selfish nature of the current educational system that hindered the youth to be creative.

“If we are going to always “copy” from the western world then we will loose our identity as Ghanaian. The nation still has beautiful traditional values and practices which need to be uphold”, he said.

The lecture exposed students to some of the Akan non-verbal traditions and practices, their significance and why the youth should learn to enable them become creative for rapid development.

Prof Opoku Asare said many of the drums used by the Akan tradition had special role that included entertainment and advice to the people through the sounds they produced.

He said “the Fontomfrom which is a collection of different drums urged the Akan society to be united always because where there is unity there is progress”.

Prof Opoku Asare said visual forms of communication like tribal marks, emblems of clans and the Adinkra symbols in the Akan culture also transmitted special sacred messages and were forms of identification.

He said the signs such as the chameleon and a hand holding an egg signified that in life there are limits to human possibility and further advised politicians that power is fragile like an egg and need to be handled with utmost care.

Prof Opoku Asare said the Adinkra symbol called the ladder of death also teaches people to support one another in times of adversity.

GNA