Watch as education minister directs GES to make ‘mother-tongue’ instruction compulsory at basic level

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Asakramitoga 1 month ago

Teaching in the mother tongue was happening in the 1950s. I was born in Accra taught in Ga up to class 6. I still read and speak Ga like my mother tongue the Ewe

Teaching in the mother tongue was happening in the 1950s. I was born in Accra taught in Ga up to class 6. I still read and speak Ga like my mother tongue the Ewe
FRANKIE 1 month ago

A very dangerous and ignorant directive. Then after JHS and SHS, you tell me that English language is a prerequisite for entry into the next level of education. Are we going to use Ga, Twi, Ewe, Dagare, Nzema or Hausa in the ...
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A very dangerous and ignorant directive. Then after JHS and SHS, you tell me that English language is a prerequisite for entry into the next level of education. Are we going to use Ga, Twi, Ewe, Dagare, Nzema or Hausa in the teaching of science and mathematics in Accra, a Ga land? I have more news for you Haruna. Stay tuned!
Kwamina 1 month ago

@Frankie. You have asked a very good question.

@Frankie. You have asked a very good question.
Kofi Banza 1 month ago

This minister is stupid and dangerous. It's not in your place to order this. He has been saying stupid things to be in the limelight.

This minister is stupid and dangerous. It's not in your place to order this. He has been saying stupid things to be in the limelight.
Ogidigidi 1 month ago

If in one class there are Fulanis, Dagombas Ewes, Akans, Gas and Nzemas whic language will the teacher use to teach the kids?
What is an ALPHABET in Hausa langua?

If in one class there are Fulanis, Dagombas Ewes, Akans, Gas and Nzemas whic language will the teacher use to teach the kids?
What is an ALPHABET in Hausa langua?
Ogidigidi 1 month ago

Alphabet in Hausa language is called Haruna minus Iddrisu so by the time the Hausa kids enters JSS all of them will be Harua Iddrisu

Alphabet in Hausa language is called Haruna minus Iddrisu so by the time the Hausa kids enters JSS all of them will be Harua Iddrisu
Dirty 1 month ago

Fulani in Ghana doing what???

Fulani in Ghana doing what???
Truth 1 month ago

Did he say the mother tongue will replace the English language? Children up the to age of 7 can learn up to 42 languages and research has shown that those who study the local language speak better English. English then become ...
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Did he say the mother tongue will replace the English language? Children up the to age of 7 can learn up to 42 languages and research has shown that those who study the local language speak better English. English then becomes second language and transactional while the mother tongue becomes identity. The directive is not dangerous and ignorant, it is sound and grounded.
FRANKIE 1 month ago

@Truth, you did not answer my core question about which language will be used in the teaching of science, mathematics, information technology, etc? How developed are your local languages which do not criss the border into Bur ...
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@Truth, you did not answer my core question about which language will be used in the teaching of science, mathematics, information technology, etc? How developed are your local languages which do not criss the border into Burkina Faso?
Martin Kreisler 1 month ago

What research are you talking off.
Simply ask yourself the practical question about why pupils from middle class private schools (mostly in the bigger towns/cities), most often speak better English than those from Local Auth ...
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What research are you talking off.
Simply ask yourself the practical question about why pupils from middle class private schools (mostly in the bigger towns/cities), most often speak better English than those from Local Authority Basic Schools in the less endowed areas. You can verify this fact yourself without any complex research.
While it is very necessary to enhance the learning and use of local languages in basic school education, the teaching of English should be improved by providing better trained and motivated teachers, and not by depriving the children off the opportunity to learn English an an early stage.
Akiti 1 month ago

Thank you Frankie. It is heartwarming to realize that some Ghanaians have the ability and the intelligence to think cogently and properly. Haruna has badly exposed himself as not being one of such. In fact I don't think he ev ...
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Thank you Frankie. It is heartwarming to realize that some Ghanaians have the ability and the intelligence to think cogently and properly. Haruna has badly exposed himself as not being one of such. In fact I don't think he even knows what he is talking about.

We are in the year 2025. Others have used their brains to go to the moon and have now built machines that are taking them on the several years journey to Mars. This reference is not to indicate that we also want to or need to go to the Moon or Mars. It is to make reference to the massive knowledge and finance muscle that it takes to attain such otherwise unthinkable human feats.

As we speak, over 60% of our population do not have their own personal or private bathrooms or toilets at wherever they live in Ghana. Out of that 60%, I can vouch that over 80% of them respond to nature's call in black polythene disposable bags which are then discreetly thrown into gutters in urban areas or, in the rural areas, they squat al fresco in nearby bushes or rivers, together with all other animals. This narrative is just to give us an idea of how hopelessly backward and primitive we still are as a people.

Yet, we still want to take a reverse turn to teach our children in our highly disadvantaged and unrecognizable local languages, none of which have the linguistic vocabulary parallels with those other languages that have created the kind of knowledge systems that have figuratively sent human beings as far up as to the moon and down to the deepest depths of the oceans and earth's crust.

Meanwhile, the vocabulary strength of the dominant twi language in Ghana is approximately 50,000 words whilst the number of existing words of the English language for example, is estimated by some sources to be up to 1,000,000. It is important to recognize the fact that the numerical gap of existing words between the two languages also constitutes a knowledge gap.

I would therefore wish to ask the Hon. Minister of Education that how and when can we for instance, create new words in Twi for example, to bridge that vocabulary and ultimately the knowledge gap so as to teach our children modern up-to-date knowledge in the Twi language, for example?

Let us consider the Mandarin language of China. It is probably the language with the highest number of native speakers in the world - over 1 billion speakers. We also know that China is the most economically, culturally, industrially, militarily, scientifically and technologically advanced nation in the world. They achieved all this by employing their own local languages which have preceded other modern international languages by several thousands of years. Yet, China sponsors hundreds of thousands of their youth each year to other advanced countries to enhance their linguistic skills in other international languages because, they know the power and strength of modern languages and where they can take you.

As unfortunate as it may sound, dwelling on the petty sentimental values of our local languages will not take us anywhere but backwards. We have no other option in this world but to stick fast to the inherited English language if we are to make any appreciable advances in the world. We are even lucky that those awful imperialists have not found a way to impose financial charges on us for the unauthorized use of their native languages (that's on the lighter side). Having said that, it must be recognized that English is now to be seen as an international language and not the language of our oppressors. Any international language is for sure a thousand times more useful and productive than a local language of at most a couple of million speakers.

So Mr Haruna, think again, but needless to say, as for me, I will definitely not send my children to a school where they will teach science, math, Spanish, English, art, IT, physics or AI in the Dagbani, Ewe, GA or Twi languages. If on the other hand it becomes necessary for my children to learn any of our local languages per the medium of the English language, that's fine.
Dr. SAS, Attorney at Law 1 month ago

Frankie,
For the first time in your miserable life, you have said something sensible.
Kudos my Fool.

Frankie,
For the first time in your miserable life, you have said something sensible.
Kudos my Fool.
FRANKIE 1 month ago

@SAS, Does the titles of Dr & Attorney at Law make you feel whole, complete, accomplished, legitimate and proudly human?

@SAS, Does the titles of Dr & Attorney at Law make you feel whole, complete, accomplished, legitimate and proudly human?
Yanks 1 month ago

Why are you so much intrigued by a foreign language?? Tell me a country that has substantially developed using a foreign language? It is only in Africa where we have been socially engineered to disown what we have and blindly ...
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Why are you so much intrigued by a foreign language?? Tell me a country that has substantially developed using a foreign language? It is only in Africa where we have been socially engineered to disown what we have and blindly follow strangers. Do know what it entails to learn a foreign language? You add their culture and try to to be like them. Consequently you become mentally enslaved, and that's where Africa find itself. If we're not speaking English, you're speaking French, Spanish, Arabic or Portuguese.
Maame 1 month ago

Is the minister writing in his mother tongue? English language is not our mother tongue but very much needed in our global world. You graduate from University and you can't express yourself in English language. Very shamef ...
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Is the minister writing in his mother tongue? English language is not our mother tongue but very much needed in our global world. You graduate from University and you can't express yourself in English language. Very shameful! You'll not be marketable. Dangerous directive!
world 1 month ago

very good sir.

very good sir.
Francis 1 month ago

Is this move really in the interest of the child? Take a police officer or any civil servant who is transferred from one region to the other and their children cannot speak the local language. How is that going to impact the ...
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Is this move really in the interest of the child? Take a police officer or any civil servant who is transferred from one region to the other and their children cannot speak the local language. How is that going to impact the chid's school performance if everything is done in the local language?
The Bee 1 month ago

All textbooks therefore should be written in the mother tongue

All textbooks therefore should be written in the mother tongue
Albert 1 month ago

@The Bee. Let's hope so. Perhaps that will force us to find local words for many things including those in nature such as oxygen, hydrogen, calcium, giraffe, orca, whale, shark, the planets, etc. etc

@The Bee. Let's hope so. Perhaps that will force us to find local words for many things including those in nature such as oxygen, hydrogen, calcium, giraffe, orca, whale, shark, the planets, etc. etc
Akiti 1 month ago

@Albert. By the time we have managed to find local alternatives, 200 years would have passed us by.

@Albert. By the time we have managed to find local alternatives, 200 years would have passed us by.
HARUNA YOU DO NOT SPEAK ANY OTHER GHANAIAN LANGUAGE APART FROM HAUSA AND GRUSHIE 1 month ago

If this policy has been introduced when you went to Class 1 how would you have communicated to become a Minister or evencommunicate to other tribes in your aspiration to be a President!

If this policy has been introduced when you went to Class 1 how would you have communicated to become a Minister or evencommunicate to other tribes in your aspiration to be a President!
Uwusu 1 month ago

Mr. Education Minister, you said it all. You are too good. That is our next future president. The Ashanti's go in line with the Northness. Where is Muntaka muhamed, the interior minister. I am reminding him again about the re ...
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Mr. Education Minister, you said it all. You are too good. That is our next future president. The Ashanti's go in line with the Northness. Where is Muntaka muhamed, the interior minister. I am reminding him again about the refugees. The foreign nationals. Send all of them away. I pray for you people for the goo job you people are doing. Don't forget the Man so called the Igbo King. Please bring him back to Nigeria. He is dangerous to Ghanaians community.
Smart way!! 1 month ago

Nice work guys!! We think you're smart when you are fluent in English!! How about the Germans, Chinese, Japanese,.........we need to wake up!! There are both smart and dumb people in every where!! Color and speach don't det ...
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Nice work guys!! We think you're smart when you are fluent in English!! How about the Germans, Chinese, Japanese,.........we need to wake up!! There are both smart and dumb people in every where!! Color and speach don't determine your IQ!!!!
John Kofi 1 month ago

Follow what has now been reinstated at Agona Nsaba the use of dual languages in public basic schools since 2016. The result has been a massive improvement in the marks and scores of BECE of indigene Agona students who speak a ...
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Follow what has now been reinstated at Agona Nsaba the use of dual languages in public basic schools since 2016. The result has been a massive improvement in the marks and scores of BECE of indigene Agona students who speak and now learn in Twi. This was the policy in the First Republic under Kwame Nkrumah that helped produce so many Agona intellectuals who have served Ghana very well. This good policy was destroyed under the Educational Reform of 1987. The policy was revived in January 2016 after direct appeal to the Ministry of Education. What is needed in Ghana is the option of schools to use different Ghanaian languages in a community at the primary and JHS level.
SK 1 month ago

This is a very dangerous directive. We are in a world where parents get transfer from region to region. For example if you get transfer from the Volta to Ashanti or Ashanti to Volta what do you expect the kids of those par ...
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This is a very dangerous directive. We are in a world where parents get transfer from region to region. For example if you get transfer from the Volta to Ashanti or Ashanti to Volta what do you expect the kids of those parents to do. And this does not pertain to only Volta and Ashanti region . The other regions are there with their mother languages.
Kweku 1 month ago

@SK. This is the problem with black people. We do things without any critical analysis. We act in an ad hoc manner. I can forsee so many problems with this initive. Some were spelled out by other contributors on this platform ...
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@SK. This is the problem with black people. We do things without any critical analysis. We act in an ad hoc manner. I can forsee so many problems with this initive. Some were spelled out by other contributors on this platform.
Coach 1 month ago

“This isn’t new policy — it’s déjà vu. Ghana has had a mother-tongue instruction policy since 2003, and NALAP already tested it. The problem isn’t lack of directives — it’s feasibility. Out of 80+ local langua ...
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“This isn’t new policy — it’s déjà vu. Ghana has had a mother-tongue instruction policy since 2003, and NALAP already tested it. The problem isn’t lack of directives — it’s feasibility. Out of 80+ local languages, only a few have fully developed orthographies, textbooks, and trained teachers. Without written pedagogy, curriculum materials, and fluency alignment, this policy will collapse under the same weight as before.”
Martin Kreisler 1 month ago

So what happens in the case of the child of say a Frafra/Grushie or an Ewe civil servant, who is transfered from the Upper East or the Volta Region to the Ashanti Region. The child's mother tongue is not twi, so how will such ...
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So what happens in the case of the child of say a Frafra/Grushie or an Ewe civil servant, who is transfered from the Upper East or the Volta Region to the Ashanti Region. The child's mother tongue is not twi, so how will such a child cope in class? Besides, as long as English remains the official language in the country and the medium of communication at higher levels of education, extra effort must be made to make all school children proficient in the language from an early stage, so as not to disadvantage them in the future.
The ministers intentions, though good must be implemented with extreme caution, so as not to backfire on the country.
Kwadwo 1 month ago

Master, I want to ask you similar question. So what happens in the case of the child of say a Frafra/Grushie or an Ewe civil servant, who has migrated from the Upper East or the Volta Region to Germany, France, Spain Portuga ...
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Master, I want to ask you similar question. So what happens in the case of the child of say a Frafra/Grushie or an Ewe civil servant, who has migrated from the Upper East or the Volta Region to Germany, France, Spain Portugal, etc?
Truth 1 month ago

This instructions is it in English or your mother tongue. Let's not forget that unlike the advance countries which they have predominantly one language, Africa is quite different. Let's think well

This instructions is it in English or your mother tongue. Let's not forget that unlike the advance countries which they have predominantly one language, Africa is quite different. Let's think well
Coach 1 month ago

The minister seems to forget that not every child speaks their ‘mother tongue’ at home. Many urban and mixed-language households use Twi, English, or pidgin as home languages. So which tongue exactly becomes the medium of ...
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The minister seems to forget that not every child speaks their ‘mother tongue’ at home. Many urban and mixed-language households use Twi, English, or pidgin as home languages. So which tongue exactly becomes the medium of instruction? Policy without linguistic reality is wishful thinking.
Rochelle 1 month ago

@Coach. I fully agree with you. Well said!!

@Coach. I fully agree with you. Well said!!
Kwadwo 1 month ago

@Coach, they will use the language of the location of the school. Say, for school in Volta Region, will use the predominant language, Ashanti Region will be Twi, ect

@Coach, they will use the language of the location of the school. Say, for school in Volta Region, will use the predominant language, Ashanti Region will be Twi, ect
GOLDEN 1 month ago

ARE THERE ENOUGH BOOKS IN OUR LOCAL LANGUAGES,?????,IF NOT THEN ITS TOO EARLY TO COME WITH THIS SUGGESTION.OUR MOTHER TONGUE IS ALWAYS VERY IMPORTANT,ITS OUR IDENTITY TO BE PROUD OF,AS WELL AS OUR RICH CULTURAL TRADITIONS. TH ...
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ARE THERE ENOUGH BOOKS IN OUR LOCAL LANGUAGES,?????,IF NOT THEN ITS TOO EARLY TO COME WITH THIS SUGGESTION.OUR MOTHER TONGUE IS ALWAYS VERY IMPORTANT,ITS OUR IDENTITY TO BE PROUD OF,AS WELL AS OUR RICH CULTURAL TRADITIONS. THERE USED TO BE COMPULSERY SUBJECTS IN THE SCHOOLS,LIKE MATHS,SCIENCE,AT LEAST ONE GHANAIAN LANGUAGE,PLUS ENGLISH,TO BE ABLE TO GET AN O-LEVEL CERTIFICATE,HAS THAT BEEN CHANGED??????? TO HELP KIDS AT SCHOOL,TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SUBJECTS,ITS VERY VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE TEACHERS TO EXPLAIN THINGS FOR THE KIDS BOTH IN THE LOCAL LANGUAGE AS WELL AS THE ENGLISH,OTHERWISE THEY LOSE INTEREST!!!!!
ACE 1 month ago

Well done minister. This move is very important.

Well done minister. This move is very important.
Now Now 1 month ago

The issue of transfers of civil servants and others have been well stated
Go to Oti. Go to Nkwanta South, Nkwanta North etc etc. How many languages exist in one locality?
Lawyer Iddrisu, are you directing teaching in the M ...
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The issue of transfers of civil servants and others have been well stated
Go to Oti. Go to Nkwanta South, Nkwanta North etc etc. How many languages exist in one locality?
Lawyer Iddrisu, are you directing teaching in the MOTHER tongue or teaching in the LOCAL language
Can a teacher in Basic School decline, if not reject a posting on grounds that he lacks fluency in the MOTHER tongue?
Please, much as your views are sound, kindly go beyond the Ashanti girl, to the poor Dagomba girl who has just come down to stay with the Uncle and attend School.
Please be honest,
Kwasi Addai 1 month ago

Will pupils in the Bono Region be taught in the Bono language? What about pupils in Seikwa, Atebubu, Yeji, Kwame Danso, where they each have their own languages which are unwritten? Please Minister, don’t forget that there ...
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Will pupils in the Bono Region be taught in the Bono language? What about pupils in Seikwa, Atebubu, Yeji, Kwame Danso, where they each have their own languages which are unwritten? Please Minister, don’t forget that there are many local languages that are unwritten
Nana 1 month ago

I support that, but is he saying the teacher should be able to speak all the languages that his pupils are used to? Twi is not the only mother tongue in this country . Those in akan speaking region should be made to teach wi ...
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I support that, but is he saying the teacher should be able to speak all the languages that his pupils are used to? Twi is not the only mother tongue in this country . Those in akan speaking region should be made to teach with two and fante, those in greater Accra, ga and adangbe, krobo, those in volta , ewe, likewise those in the northern sector...
Kwame K 1 month ago

Please please please Mr Minister, do not take our educational system backwards. This policy was there before you were born and has never seen the light of day simply because development has far advanced and English has become ...
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Please please please Mr Minister, do not take our educational system backwards. This policy was there before you were born and has never seen the light of day simply because development has far advanced and English has become the universal standard. It just will not work, forget it.We should rather help our children to study the English Language easily.
Bright 1 month ago

Not surprised, even the Minister's command of the English Language is not up to scratch. God help us.

Not surprised, even the Minister's command of the English Language is not up to scratch. God help us.
Sarah Anang 1 month ago

Sadly, Ga children are doing Twi in Accra. Please address that issue.

Sadly, Ga children are doing Twi in Accra. Please address that issue.
VERY BAD DECISION 1 month ago

Ghanaian languages should be optional for students. Once a child is born and raised in Ghana, he/she will by all means speak any of the local languages. Our forefathers spoke the local languages without learning them in schoo ...
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Ghanaian languages should be optional for students. Once a child is born and raised in Ghana, he/she will by all means speak any of the local languages. Our forefathers spoke the local languages without learning them in school. English is a powerful language in global affairs and we must not toy with that. Learning English does not make us slaves but rather competitive in the world.
K Yeboah 1 month ago

Most sensible and hope we actually approach this new directive with boldness and pride in teaching them. Why should a Ghanaian child learn someone's language all the way from primary? When is that proud Ghanaian child going t ...
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Most sensible and hope we actually approach this new directive with boldness and pride in teaching them. Why should a Ghanaian child learn someone's language all the way from primary? When is that proud Ghanaian child going to start learning their own language if not being thought in schools....we should stop the jokes and get serious with this new policy change. Well done Mr Minister. It is called developing self confidence from early years!!!
Edmond Amponsah 1 month ago

This directives could be beneficial. However, the way it has been rush into our educational systems seem to be the problem.
My humble question for our honorable minister is ;(1) What is the purpose of this policy? (2) Will ...
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This directives could be beneficial. However, the way it has been rush into our educational systems seem to be the problem.
My humble question for our honorable minister is ;(1) What is the purpose of this policy? (2) Will the teaching in our local dialect or dialects help to improve in producing students in the science's to help build our country? (3)Was there any consultation with the GES , Teacher's Unions and other stakeholders including Nananom for the language selective for each region? (4) Has this policy been tested in any part of the country for it's effectiveness before rolling it out as a national policy?
My concerns are (1) some regions speaks more than 1 popular language. So in such scenario how do you select the language to be used?
(2) Teachers are randomly posted in all part of the country. What happens to a teacher posted to a community he or she doesn't speak the local language the children speaks. How will such teacher teach in such community?
(3) What about children who's parents are posted to communities they do not speak or understand the local languages there? How will such children' coap?
This policy needs holistic approach and proper planning before implementation. Let the honorable minister come again because this is very confusing
JUST LIKE THAT? 1 month ago

Is this how our leaders think? Haruna if you think things happen by merely issuing commands, then think again. Something as big as this can be done by issuing commands without plan and preparation? What is the plan to enforce ...
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Is this how our leaders think? Haruna if you think things happen by merely issuing commands, then think again. Something as big as this can be done by issuing commands without plan and preparation? What is the plan to enforce? Haba! Thank God Ghanaians no longer hail fools and their stupidity.
Pouv: Everyone to their fathers house 1 month ago

What happens the rest of the class that don't share the mother tongue of the majority in their class?

What happens the rest of the class that don't share the mother tongue of the majority in their class?
IMPOSSIBLE TO IMPLEMENT IT-Omanba 1 month ago

Impossible to implement such a directive in a society where you have so many children from different tribes in a classroom.

Impossible to implement such a directive in a society where you have so many children from different tribes in a classroom.

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Watch as education minister directs GES to make ‘mother-tongue’ instruction compulsory at basic level

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