He said recognition of linguistic and cultural diversity contributed to strengthening the unity and cohesion of societies and promoting lasting peace among them.

Reverend Mawutor was speaking at this year's International Mother Language Day, organized by Pencils of Promise and World Vision International Ghana in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service and the Ghana Journalists Association in Ho.

Reverend Mawutor said according to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) four could be achieved only when education responded to and reflected the multilingual nature of society.

He said though the country was multilingual, enough had not been done to provide a comprehensive nationwide approach for bilingual education, and therefore urged stakeholders in the educational sector to find possible ways to address the situation.

Reverend Mawutor described the theme: "Indigenous languages matter for development, peace building and reconciliation," as apt and appropriate "in view of the recent phenomenon of language endangerment and ultimately, loss of indigenous Ghanaian languages."

He said since Ghana's independence, several educational policies and reforms had been made, which emphasized the importance of mother tongue education but there had been no concerted effort to design and implement a comprehensive language-in-education policy incorporating all dimensions.

Reverend Mawutor said mother language played essential role in development agenda of every nation, therefore it was necessary that conscious efforts were made to promote it.

During panel discussion on the theme, the speakers called on parents to help promote mother language at home as it helped in holistic development of the individual and society.

The speakers said the death of the local languages started from "our various homes" therefore it was imperative for parents to place premium on mother language in their various homes and teach children how to speak it accurately.

They also identified lack of textbooks on local languages in schools as one of the factors militating against teachers' efforts in teaching the languages, and urged government to take the necessary steps to address it.

The speakers also  urged government to put the necessary measures in place to address challenges hindering smooth implementation of mother tongue policy in Basic Schools and also to  ensure that the was consistency in the implementation of the policy.

Basic school pupils marched through the principal streets of Ho to mark the day with placards promoting mother language.