Make English Literature Compulsory In Schools: Atukwei-Okai

Accra, (Greater Accra) 8 Oct.,

The decision to make English Literature an optional subject in junior and senior secondary schools will not encourage students to take up the habit of reading. Mr. Atukwei Okai, Secretary-General of Pan-African Writers' Association,(PAWA) presiding at a panel discussion in connection with the one-week Danish-Ghanaian Cultural Festival currently taking place in Accra and Cape Coast, said last night. Mr. Okai said this is because reading is a habit mostly adopted in the early period of formal education. The discussion under the theme: "The Role of Literary Arts in Society", was attended by 40 writers, poets, publishers and the general public, with Mr. Jens-Martin Eriksen, a novelist and Vice- Chairman of the Fictional Writers' Union of Denmark, as the special guest. The PAWA Secretary-General said the Ghanaian book market is saturated with cheap publications by foreign authors while the locally- authored ones are rather expensive and poorly patronised. He attributed the high cost of locally published books to laws which make the cost of production high thus discouraging publishers from taking risky ventures. Mr. Okai said the blame for the low supply of locally written literary material on the Ghanaian market should be shared by publishers because being the link between the writer and the reader they decide what must be published. He said publishers are sometimes more occupied with "textbook contracts" which promise quick returns and cautioned writers against publishing their works themselves because of marketing problems. Mr. Okai re-echoed a theme that ran through the contributions of the three preceding speakers when he said the low reading level of Ghanaians was a major contributory factor to the low number of local literary works on book shelves. Professor Kofi Anyidoho, Director of the School of Performing Arts, who spoke on: "The African writer and traditional values", stressed the need for writers not to neglect African values in their works, especially with the onset of the 21st century. He said these values which "we neglect are rather what will take us into the next millenium" where, according to him, there will be no room for weaklings and those not well organised for what is to be. Prof. Anyidoho noted that most of the new African writers who are following in the steps of the pioneers are in the fields of broadcasting and theatre which mostly do not go through the daunting process of publishing before reaching the public. He called on the educational authorities to encourage the use of locally-written story books in schools to rekindle the interest of students in reading more of such materials. Mr. Eriksen, who spoke on: "The modern writer in contemporary society"', said a writer should use his ability and knowledge to write about the realities of the day.