First of all, let me ask:
Where Does Ghana Rank in Education in Africa?
According to the International Diplomatic Consultant, Farouk Al-Wahab, has described Ghana’s educational system as the most ‘confused’ on the African Continent.
According to him, the educational system adopted by Ghana has been the country’s bane for a long time.
“Whether it is a semester system or a trimester system, that is not important because education is a template, the language used is key…,” he stated.
What Was Ghana’s Education Like?
He noted that though Ghana’s educational system has the potential to be the best in the African Region due to quality teaching skills, that potential was robbed when the country adopted the British education model.
Mr. Farouk Al Wahab made the observation on Angel FM’s Anopa Bofo Morning Show hosted by Kofi Adoma Nwanwani on Tuesday, January 25.
The diplomat believes the country should have thought through the British model before accepting it hook, line and sinker.
What Are the Challenges of Education in Ghana?
Mr. Farouk added “We took everything British and that has been Ghana’s problem from polling and electoral systems to education, police barracks system and the constitution”, he stated Twi.
He further argued that the use of English as the language for teaching and learning activities is a great disincentive for the country especially, for students. He thus advocated a switch from English to the local language preferably Twi.
The International Diplomat underscored the relevance of language in the upbringing of a child as that’s the medium through which meaning and understanding are established.
He thus stated that using the native language to teach students would yield better results compared to the use of the English Language which makes learning tedious for students.
Mr. Al-Wahab noted that post-independent Ghana doesn’t have more than 26% of its population speaking English and hence cannot comprehend why English is the statutory language used in all educational institutions in the country.
He posited that only 15% of people can effectively follow the grammatical rules in speaking.
“The students fail in advance when you use English Language which they don’t understand to teach them a ‘difficult’ subject like Mathematics…,” he added.
He further urged Ghanaian leaders to learn from the other African countries which use their native languages as medium of instruction even after independence.
“Kenya, Morocco, Tanzania, Uganda and Algeria have all used their mother tongues as the accepted language in their educational system and it has been beneficial to them…,” he said.
Credit: angelonline.com