'Re-introduce Music And Cultural Studies'

Dr Daniel Amponsah (Koo Nimo) a renowned musician and guitarist has called for the re-introduction of music and cultural studies in schools.

“We should find room in the curricula to expose our children to these virtues that hold our society together,” he advocated.

He notes that while the study of music help to build better learning capabilities, cultural studies helps the youth to understand who they are and fully develop within that context.

He cautions that if this does not happen, the youth would be left confused, as what they would be taught and what they would learn from the outside world would conflict with their environment.

Dr Amponsah was speaking at a lecture at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) on the theme ‘Music: A Vital Ingredient for the Education of the Child”.

He said in teaching music, the nation’s practices, beliefs and customs should be seriously considered.

“We should not only seek to develop talents but develop these talents in the context of our highly held societal values,” he added.

He noted that the “tragedy of the times” was the fact that much had not been done to help the youth to accept our language, folklore, songs and other forms of traditional oral literature as authentic and priceless.

He called on parents and teachers to encourage children to sing as it helped to inculcate discipline in them and also venture into the music career, pointing out that there were a lot of interesting opportunities available there.

The Vice Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman, said it was time to move from strict specialisation in the various disciplines of study and adopt more interdisciplinary approaches to studies. She commended Dr Amponsah for his exemplary works in music.

Dr Amponsah and his Adadam Agofomma Cultural Group performed songs to the delight of the audience.