Responding to a question asked by Pulse Ghana’s Alice Adu about how this policy can be justified especially because there is a literacy deficit of indigenous languages among school children in the country, the minister said there “cannot [be] excuses for our children.”
“I do admit that language is part of our culture... I am a believer in languages; language everywhere is important and we cannot have excuses for our children. I speak four Ghanaian languages and I speak them pretty well. It is possible for someone to speak eight or ten or twelve Ghanaian languages without a blink, so as for me, it is not really an issue.” she said.
“There are some languages in Ghana that crosses the borders, so if Arabic or Ewe crosses the border and that child wants to learn it, please lets us support that course”, she reiterated.
Dzifa Gomashie was speaking on the sidelines of an event organized at the Peduase Valley Resort to promote arts and culture in the country. This was minutes after renowned sculptor Kofi Setordji called for increased incorporation of Ghanaian culture into the education system.
She said once the Ministry of Education had convened experts and led to the introduction of this policy, her opinion "would not matter."
Speaking at a campaign event at Nsawam Zongo in the Eastern Region, the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah said the president had agreed to introduce Arabic in senior high schools in 2017 and then in basic schools in 2018. Initial media reports said Arabic was going to be made compulsory in schools in 2017 but government has had to come out to deny this.
According to 2014 Early Grade Reading Assessment, 98 percent of pupils in primary two could not read English.
Meanwhile, the governing National Democratic Congress and the opposition New Patriotic Party have been squabbling over who came up with the idea first.
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