Educationist, Anis Haffar, has welcomed government’s decision to extend the study of French language from basic through to Senior High School level, but believes that it must not be made compulsory.
He believes the government must be ready to make a lot of investment to ensure the desired outcomes are achieved from the teaching of the language, including recruiting and training enough teachers who can teach the language effectively across the country.
“When we consider that Ghana is boarded by Burkina Faso, Cote d’ivoire and Togo, and French is the only means of communications, I think that is in a good place and it is something that we need to encourage. The challenge though, is that we have to be in the position where we have enough teachers who are qualified to teach the language… the second thing is, where are the labs? I’m talking about audiovisual labs, audiovisual equipment, headphones and others,” he said on on Thursday.
President Akufo-Addo, who was on a two-day official visit to Togo, said that the government is working to ensure that from the next academic year, the study of French language is made compulsory from basic through to Senior High School.
According to him, Ghana, which is surrounded by three francophone countries, must not be seen to be lagging behind in communicating in the French language, adding that being proficient in the language will “empower our population with the capacity to survive in this ECOWAS environment.”
But Anis Haffar said although the study of different languages is important, the government must be ready to ensure that the means of making the teaching of the language effectively is available.
“If we can teach French, English and a mother tongue side-by-side with each other, there is nothing wrong with that, but we need to have the means by which we can do it properly. The last thing that we want to do is to start something that we cannot finish,” he said on Eyewitness News.
“At some point in time, there has to be the element of choice… When we begin to do things as compulsory, for me as an educator who has a liberal mindset, I find it difficult to accept where there is a compulsion.”
A lecturer at the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ghana, Dr. Obadele Kambon, has however said that government must channel its efforts into the strengthening the teaching of African languages in schools rather than French.
According to him, although the study of French as an international language in schools is important, the country must prioritize the teaching of African languages such as Yuroba, Kiswahili and Wolof, which he said better promotes African collectiveness culture.
Meanwhile, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), has welcomed the decision by the government. The General Secretary Ofori Acheampong in an interview on the subject, said the idea is long overdue.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
