Educationist cautions against rush to school children in vernacular

An educationist I.K. Gyasi is urging caution in the implementation of a new education policy that will make local languages the medium of instruction at kindergarten and primaries one to three.

He believes the move will not serve the best interest of the children and wants the Education Ministry to be sure it has carefully considered all the implications of the policy first.

The Education Ministry believes children can better appreciate what they are taught if the teaching is done in local dialects.

But like other educationists, Mr. Gyasi believes the approach might worsen standards especially in the use of English as the lingua franca.

“Are we going to wait until the Ghanaian child is nine years old before he is introduced to a language which is the official language of this count,” he questioned in contributing to the debate on Joy FM's Newsnite programme on Tuesday.

“I do not think it will help the Ghanaian child to wait until nine years before he is introduced to English.”

Mr Gyasi however stated that “if the programme is such that apart from the Ghanaian language, the child will also be introduced to English as a subject,” he does not have problems with it.

The announcement of the programme has generated a lot of commentary with opinions divided on the appropriateness of the direction.

Government however appears bent on implementing the programme as its designers cite what they say has been its track record in South Africa.

Myjoyonline.com/Ghana