Lecturer Ignites Debate On Making Ghanaian Languages Compulsory In Basic Schools

The debate as to whether Ghanaian languages should be made compulsory subjects in Basic schools in Ghana has been resurrected by a lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

The lecturer at the Department of Modern Languages, Mr. George Appiah Kubi argues that making pupils study their mother tongues officially in their childhood days will make them more fluent and ably communicate in writing and in speech.

Speaking to this reporter, Mr. Appiah Kubi called on the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service to consider making the study of Ghanaian languages compulsory from primary to Senior High level 'for the sake of the future generation'

“With the rapidly changing world, the filling of forms at banking halls and financial institutions as well as the writing out of prescriptions can best be done in local languages so that indigenes of a particular area do not have to struggle to understand things.

If English is being studied as a core subject from primary through to Senior High level, why ignore our own languages as if we do not respect ourselves”. The lecturer asked rhetorically.

According to him, many institutions have been contracting their Depratment to transcribe their leaflets, brochures among others into some of the Akan languages for easy reading by their local patrons and customers.

The Ghana Medical School, he noted has contacted the department to help them translate all drugs and medical terms into the local language so their staff as well as workers could use it for both academic and field work purposes.

He further argued that healthcare could be enhanced if Doctors and medical practitioners could communicate effectively in the Ghanaian languages of the areas where they would be posted to.

In such situations, he noted people would go to the hospital and return home with their diseases because they could not express themselves well in English or were just shy to speak the little they could.

Mr. George Appiah Kubi who is also known as Barima Kwadwo Appiah Kubi because of his chieftaincy position at Anwiankwanta in the Ashanti Region mentioned pointed how the culture and tradition of the country was gradually fading and 'this should be a great bother to every patriotic politician or public office holder'.

According to him, many people have also abandoned their businesses they intended doing with banks and other institutions just because they could not communicate or understand the mode of operations of these firms.

''It is interesting that some institutions that had less regard for our local languages are now coming to KNUST department of modern languages to get translation for all the things they do so they could either transact business or communicate with the clients well'', Mr. Appiah Kubi reiterated.

Mr. Appiah Kubi who has used his influence in society due to his roles at the Kwame Nkrumah University and the Christian Service University College all in Kumasi to have a positive bearing on the Anwiankwanta Traditional Area said it has not been easy combining several roles together but 'being disciplined helps a lot'.

He also announced the partnership between the Ghana Baptist Convention and the Methodist Church of Ghana and the Anwainkwanta Chiefs to build schools from basic to secondary level, adding that the Anwiankwanta Chiefs want to use education to develop their town and its people.

“We are clear on what we want to do as a traditional authority since having obtained some level of education we also believe that is the best tool we could use to develop our town and our cherished people'', Nana Appiah Kubi noted passionately.