School for Life, a Civil Society Organization working to improve access to and quality basic education in the country, has commended the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, for his directive to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to ensure that basic school teachers across the country immediately begin using Ghanaian languages as medium for teaching and learning in Ghanaian schools.
According to School for Life, the impressive move comes at a crucial time in Ghana’s education journey and responds directly to the long-standing advocacy of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the education sector.
In a statement, School for Life applauded the Minister’s commitment to constitute a five-member committee to review the current L1 (mother tongue) policy and provide recommendations for its effective implementation.
“This aligns with Ghana’s Education Act and Language Policy, which already support the use of Ghanaian languages as a medium of instruction at the lower primary level, but the implementation of which has faced challenges over the years.”
“For over three decades, School for Life has championed mother-tongue-based education through its Complementary Basic Education (CBE) Programme, which has successfully provided access to foundational literacy and numeracy for hundreds of thousands of out-of-school children,” it said.
The statement further explains that the approach has proven effective in improving learning outcomes and enabling smooth transition into the formal school system.
Beyond direct implementation, School for Life has also been a strong voice for policy reform and systemic adoption of L1-based learning.
“Our sustained advocacy efforts led to the formation of the CBE Alliance Network, a coalition of CSO/NGO partners and interested individuals promoting access to quality basic education through inclusive, mother-tongue approaches. Together, we pushed for the establishment of the Complementary Education Agency (CEA), a major policy success ensuring sustainability of CBE and recognition of alternative pathways to basic education,” they noted
“School for Life reaffirms its unwavering commitment to ensuring that no matter where a child lives in Ghana, they have access to relevant and quality education that begins in the language they understand best. We stand ready to support the Ministry of Education and the GES to roll out this
new directive effectively, providing technical guidance and experience from decades of implementing L1-based education models across northern Ghana and beyond”
“We believe that this decision marks a turning point in Ghana’s education system. It is one It is one that values inclusion, cultural identity, and improved learning outcomes for all children,” the NGO stressed.
During the recent launch of the book “Reconceptualising the Learning Crisis in Africa: Multi-dimensional Pedagogies of Accelerated Learning Programmes” by Professor Kwame Akyeampong and Dr. Sean Higgins, School for Life and other CSOs called on the Ministry of Education to commit to enforcing the use of the mother tongue in basic schools, particularly in the early years of a child’s education.
