Prof Josephine Dzahene-Quarshie is the Dean of Students at the School of Languages, UG
Dean of Students at the School of Languages, University of Ghana, Prof Josephine Dzahene-Quarshie, has called for urgent and practical steps to strengthen the use of Ghanaian languages in education, stressing that policy alone is not enough.
Speaking at the International Mother Language Day symposium held on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, Dzahene-Quarshie stated that Ghana has made significant progress in promoting local languages over the past decade.
“If we compare today to five or ten years ago, we have done a lot of good for our Ghanaian languages. They are taught in primary education, and in most of our traditional universities, courses are run in Ghanaian languages,” she stated.
She credited the media, particularly the growth of FM radio stations, for helping to promote indigenous languages across the country.
“With the coming of more FM stations, our local languages are used more often nationwide. They are really contributing to the consolidation and development of our languages,” she noted.
She also stressed that government especially the ministry of education must do more to ensure effective implementation of language policies.
“The policies are there and they are good, but when it comes to implementation, we have shortfalls. We must address those shortfalls,” she said.
She referenced the policy introduced in 2025, requiring local languages to be used as the medium of instruction from kindergarten to primary three.
However, she pointed out a major gap in learning materials.
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“There are textbooks for learning Twi or Ga as subjects but there is no science textbook written in Akan or Ga or any other Ghanaian language. That is the direction we must go. We should document our languages across various subject areas,” she explained.
Prof Dzahene-Quarshie further proposed the establishment of vocabulary expansion bodies to help develop new terms in local languages, especially for science and technology terminologies.
“The fact that we do not currently have certain vocabularies should not deter us. We need agencies that can coin new words for us to use in order to sustain and develop our languages,” she said.
Addressing parents, she urged a change in mindset regarding English and education.
“Speaking English is not education. Acquiring knowledge and being able to communicate what one knows — that is education,” she stressed.
She added that research shows children are capable of learning multiple languages with ease.
“Children can pick up as many as six languages if they are in the right environment, there is nothing wrong with a child learning to speak their mother tongue first. In fact, it gives them a firm foundation for learning other languages,” she stated.
Dzahene-Quarshie encouraged parents to take pride in speaking their native languages at home.
“English is not our language and we have limited environments where it is spoken. If a child speaks their local language well, it strengthens their ability to learn other languages. We must continue to educate our parents so they understand this and feel proud to speak their mother tongues with their children,” she said.
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