President Akufo Addo has given strong indications that the French language would be made compulsory from the next academic year in 2017 from basic school through to Senior High Schools.
The president who speaks fluent French himself, said this when he addressed the Ghanaian community in neighbouring Togo as part of his three country tour.
According to the president, it is unacceptable for Ghana which is bordered on the East, West and North by three French speaking countries not to show interest in the French language.
“We’ll want to make French a compulsory language in our schools right until the end of the Senior High School. But for that to happen we have to sit down with the educational authorities and work out exactly what it means,” Akufo-Addo said in his speech.
He further indicated that plans are advanced to engage stakeholders in the educational sector to get the policy in motion. “I’m fortified in taking this decision… Mathew Opoku Prempeh, Minister for Education has it as a major priority on his agenda.
“So I’m hopeful that between now and the next academic year, some positive development is going to come out of it because to me, it is absolutely essential that we do so, so that we empower our own population with the capacity to survive in this ECOWAS environment.
“People around us speak English and we don’t speak French, what is that? No, it is not good. I am interested in it, my minister of Education is interested in it and we would try and work it out to see how it works,” the president intimated.
Over the years many educationist have advocated for Ghana to prioritise the learning and speaking of French but little effort has been made in this regard.
Ivory Coast is Ghana’s neighbour on the West, Togo is on the Eastern side of Ghana and Burkina Faso, on the Northern part. All these countries are French speaking.
Many scholars have applauded government’s decision adding that they hope it sees the light of day sooner than later.
By Martin Asiedu-Dartey|3news.com|Ghana
Twitter: @NewsyMartin