Somewhere last we posted an article about the challenges some newly trained teachers face in their postings due to language barrier.
We emphasized on weakness in this year’s posting of the newly trained teachers due to the high rates of trans-linguistic postings, meaning (a situation where teachers are posted to communities that speak entirely different local languages from theirs).
For instance, many Akan speaking teachers have been posted to non-Akan communities such as the Northern Regions, Volta Region and vice versa. The language policy in Ghana demands the use of the local language (L1) as a medium of instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3). How possible can this be effectively implemented when the teachers cannot speak such learners’ local language?
Probably, the information has reached the Ministry of Education and Ghana education and they have acted on it.
Reposting of Newly Trained Teachers
During an interview at UTV, on Friday 25th February 2022, monitored closely by Frencheducationgh.com, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum said the Management of the Ghana Education Service is working on teachers who find it difficult to speak the local language of the children to ensure those newly posted teachers are reposted to communities that they can speak and understand the common language of the children to enhance teaching and learning.
According to Dr. Adutwum, some reposting has already been done of which most of them are reposted to different communities. He went ahead by explaining that some of them are yet to know their new stations.
Selection of Region of Choice
He noted that in the years ahead, newly trained teachers would be made to select a region of their choice and if there is a vacancy, he/she would be made to select their preferred district then to the preferred school.
The minister made it clear that years to come newly qualified trained teachers will be made to select their region of choice and if there is a vacancy then the opportunity will be given for them to select their preferred District and School.
The MP for Bosomtwe Constituency disclosed that the GES would have to adopt the posting procedure used by the Ghana Education Health Service to post health workers. This will help to eliminate the challenges and problem that the current system poses to the majority of teachers.
In summary, this is a good initiative and we hope that teachers who wish to teach in their hometowns get the opportunity to do so.
By: Michael Djan
French Tutor and Digital Marketing Blogger/Content Writer and GhanaWeb Blogger @ frencheducationgh.com