School for Life has commended the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, for his directive to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to ensure that basic school teachers across the country immediately begin using local/Ghanaian languages as part of the medium for teaching and learning in Ghanaian schools.
It said the impressive move came at a crucial time in Ghana's education journey and responded directly to the long-standing advocacy of civil society organisations (COs) in the education sector, including School for Life.
“During the recent launch of the book "Reconceptualising the Learning Crisis in Africa: Multi-dimensional Pedagogies of Accelerated Learning Programmes" by Professor Kwame Akyeampong and Dr Sean Higgins, School for Life and other COs called on the Ministry of Education to commit to enforcing the use of the mother tongue in basic schools, particularly in the early years of a child's education.
“School for Life applauds the minister's commitment to constitute a five-member committee to review the current 1 (mother tongue) policy and provide recommendations for its effective implementation,” a statement signed by the Director of School for Life, Wedad Sayibu, said.
Align
It said that aligned with Ghana's Education Act and Language Policy, which already supported the use of Ghanaian languages as a medium of instruction at the lower primary level, but the implementation of which has faced challenges over the years.
For over three decades, it said School for Life had championed mother-tongue-based education through its Complementary Basic Education (CBE Programme, which had successfully provided access to foundational literacy and numeracy for hundreds of thousands of out-of-school children.
That approach, it said, had proven effective in improving learning outcomes and enabling smooth transition into the formal school system.
“Beyond direct implementation, School for Life has also been a strong voice for policy reform and systemic adoption of L1-based learning.
Our sustained advocacy efforts led to the formation of the CBE Alliance Network, a coalition of CSO/NGO partners and interested individuals promoting access to quality basic education through inclusive, mother-tongue approaches,” it said.
“Together, we pushed for the establishment of the Complementary Education Agency (CEA), a major policy success ensuring sustainability of CBE and recognition of alternative pathways to basic education.”
Reaffirm
It said School for Life reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to ensuring that no matter where a child lives in Ghana, they have access to relevant and quality education that begins in the language they understand best.
