Students of Wa School for the Blind dominate in French awards

February 01, 2011 Wa, Feb. 1, GNA - Students of the Wa Methodist School for the Blind once again proved to the whole world that disability is not an inability and that given resources and support the physically challenged can prove equal to the task.

The visually impaired students did not only prove their prowess by being the only school that swept five out of the 30 awards that were presented to students who distinguished themselves in the study of French but also exhibited their talents by acting a short drama using the French language.

The 30 awardees that emerged from different basic and second cycle schools across the Upper West Region were presented with their prizes during a ceremony held at Wa on Monday to mark the Regional French Language awareness day celebration.

The ceremony which was under the theme: "Connect with the World: Learn French" saw each of the winners taking away items such as French conjugation books, French dictionaries and story books as well as learn French on video including T-Shirts all valued at GH¢80.00.

Mr. Magnus Innocent Der, the Regional French Unit Head, noted that the presentation of the prizes was to help encourage the students to put in more effort in the learning of French.

He said French was not being given the necessary attention in Ghana, and that the French Language awareness day celebration was therefore aimed at creating awareness for the study of French as well as helping to promote regional integration.

Mr. Der said the government had now found it important to encourage the study of French in the country by setting up a National French Secretariat.

Additionally, the government had over the years been sending people to francophone countries to enable them sharpen their skills in the French Language.

He said the practice of diverting French trained teachers to teach other languages was killing the learning of French in schools and called on heads of educational institutions to stop the practice.

He said the government spent huge sums of money to train such people to teach French and should therefore not be diverted from the purpose for which they were trained.

One other challenge Mr. Der mentioned was the lack of French teachers especially in the Upper West Region and appealed for support for the few French trained teachers to offer their best in the classroom.

Mr. Fabian Belieb, the Regional Director of Education, said in a speech read on his behalf though Ghana was surrounded by French speaking countries the number of basic schools that offered French was few, a situation that posed a barrier to the efforts being made to promote the learning of French in Ghana.

He appealed to schools to introduce the learning of French in their schools to encourage more people to study the language.

GNA