Kadjebi: Parents urged to be campaigners of literacy, multilingualism at home

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Mrs Grace Bonuedi, District Director of Education, Kadjebi, has urged parents to champion the course of literacy and multilingualism in their homes.

“Literacy and multilingualism are good for individual and societal development, therefore I will encourage parents never to relent on their responsibility to be first campaigners of literacy and multilingualism,” she stated.

Mrs Bonuedi was speaking at this year’s International Literacy Day celebration, organized by Pencils of Promise and World Vision International Ghana, at Kadjebi in the Oti Region on the theme: “Literacy and Multilingualism.”

The Director said literacy and multilingualism provided avenue for most people to rise to higher positions and that it was time parents complemented teachers’ efforts at home.

She said the celebration of the Day was apt and appropriate, especially with the introduction of the new curriculum, which placed more emphasis on literacy.

Mrs Bonuedi also encouraged teachers to put in more effort in guiding school children in the literacy education enterprise.

Mrs Salomey Yeboah, Manager, Nkwanta World Vision cluster said,“ learning to read and reading to learn” was one of the surest way that children could break the cycle of poverty.

She said it was important for various stakeholders to join hands to say no to illiteracy because “reading is a crucial part of child’s development and an essential skill for adults.”

Mrs Yeboah said research has shown that children in multilingual education tended to develop better skills than their monolingual peers and those who also “learn in the first language are able to do well in the second language.”

She said through reading, children became exposed to a wide range of words, which helped them build their vocabulary and also improved their understanding.

Mrs Yeboah asked parents to work in tandem with teachers in the literacy education enterprise, saying “parents and families can make huge difference because parents are the most educators in a child’s life.”

Mr Freeman Gobah, Country Director, Pencils Of Promise, said the theme for this year’s celebration, which focused on literacy and multilingualism was timely in view of poor statistics on the literacy levels in the country,

He said though a lot of teaching and learning materials had been provided to help teachers teach literacy in an effective way using local languages, several challenges were impeding it.

The Country Director underscored the need to use local languages to teach children in their formative stages, adding that “UNESCO (1953) declaration on the use of vernacular languages in literacy represent a turning point in educators’ awareness of complex issues involved when more than one language must be considered in teaching”.

He said primary school enrollment rate in the country had improved significantly by 84.59 per cent, but the quality of education had not matched the progress and called on all stakeholders to put in much more efforts to achieve the level of literacy rate the country had been yearning for.

GNA