Following last week's announcement by the Minister of Education that the use of mother tongue for teaching is compulsory in all basic schools and the subsequent public debate on it, the Deputy Minister of Education, Clement Abas Apaak, has said the new directive applies only to Kindergarten and Lower Primary levels, not the entire basic school system.
Dr Apaak's statement follows public debate sparked by his boss's announcement on Friday, October 24, that the use of mother tongue for teaching had been made compulsory in all Ghanaian schools.
Mr Iddrisu, speaking at the launch of the Free Tertiary Education Programme for Persons with Disability on October 24, said the move aligns with President John Dramani Mahama’s education reform and research agenda aimed at strengthening foundational literacy and learning outcomes across the country.
He directed the Ghana Education Service (GES) to ensure strict nationwide enforcement of the policy sparking public debate amid mixed interpretations.
However, speaking at the launch of the Foundational Learning Action Tracker at the Accra College of Education on Monday, October 27, Dr Clement Apaak clarified that the directive applies only to the early years of education and not to the entire basic school system, as had been reported in some media outlets.
“The Honourable Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has asked me to clarify that the policy directive he announced on Friday regarding the compulsory use of mother tongue as a medium of instruction in our public busy schools is confined, emphasis, confined to KG up to primary three. In other words, KG and lower primary,” he said.
According to the Deputy Minister, the clarification is aimed at ensuring the smooth implementation of the language policy and preventing misinterpretations that could disrupt effective teaching and learning across different grade levels.
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