Institute of Languages appeal to Ministry of Education

Accra, April 20, GNA - The Students Representative Council (SRC) of the Ghana Institute of Languages (GIL) on Thursday appealed to the Government and the Board of Directors of the Institute to resolve the strike action of their lecturers.

The lecturers have been on strike for two weeks now, demanding better conditions of services and also accusing the Management for taking unilateral decisions without consulting them in the running of the School.

Mr Abu Flex-Keh Wilson, President of the SRC, at a press conference in Accra asked the Management and Board of Directors to step in to ensure that the lecturers were back to the classroom. Mr Wilson said for the multi-lingua tertiary institution to strategically play its role in Africa, a radical change was needed in its management to enable the Institute to train more translators and bilingual secretaries.

The SRC also urged the public to employ the services of qualified translators instead of "people who claim they can speak and write one or two foreign languages and for that matter, they can translate. It does not work that way".

Mr Wilson also appealed to the Director of Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) and the Ministry of Education to as a matter of urgency, resume work on the Institute's new campus, which had been abandoned for three years now.

The SRC noted that the said campus project, situated at the campus of the University of Ghana, Legon was being undertaken with funds from the GETFund.

The lack of a permanent campus for the Institute, established 45 years ago by Ghana's First President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, has tremendously affected academic and administrative work. Mr Wilson, therefore, urged that, when the project was started, more lecture halls and hostel facilities be included to cater for both local and the over 40 per cent foreign students currently at the Institute.

He also announced the SRC's weeklong celebration, which would run from April 24 to April 30 during which other problems confronting the Institute would be brought to the fore. Activities planned for the week under the theme: "The Role of the Language Professional in the Socio-Economic and Political Advancement of Ghana, The Sub-Region and beyond"; are a float, artist's day, sports, debates, donation to orphanage and thanksgiving service. 20 April, 06