School For Life, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) has presented 6,300 literacy materials in Dagbani and Likpkpaaln valued at GH¢11,000 to formal schools in the Zabzugu/Tatale District at Zabzugu in the Northern Region.
Some of the large quantities of primers in Dagbani and Likpakpaaln which were presented to the schools include Karn Likpakpaaln, Laasabu Malibu among others with the Ncheem books to be followed later.
Alhaji Abdulai Ziblim Hussein, Deputy Director in-charge of Operations, who presented the materials to the District Office of the Ghana Education Service (GES) said the Service has come out with the National Literacy Accelerated Programme which encouraged children from Kindergarten one to Primary three to be taught using the mother tongue as a medium of instruction.
Alhaji Hussein stated that School For Life can therefore comfortably say that one of its desired ambitions was helping the child to use his or her first language as medium of instruction in the lower primary have been achieved.
According to the Deputy Director of Operations, it is in the light of this development that the Organization is donating these primers for use in the Primary Schools in the Zabzugu/Tatale District especially in Likpakpaaln and Ncheem which do not make the list of Ghanaian languages in which Ghana Education Service has order writing of textbooks.
He said this was why School For Life was presenting 3,150 reading books and 3,150 Mathematical books in those particular mother tongues.
He indicated that it could be recalled that in the 1997/98 academic year, School For Life entered into the District with the functional literacy programmes for children.
He said within 12 years, the programme had provided education for out-of- school children in their mother tongues( Dagbani Likpakpaaln and Ncheem) languages and prepared them for continuation in the formal schools.
Alhaji Hussein pointed out that the programmes also provided school structures in the form of classroom pavilions and classroom furniture to many communities alongside the literacy classes.
He said at the end of the 12 years, the programme succeeded in turning out 12,695 learners comprising 7,944 boys and 4,751 girls and indicated that in all, 5,962 succeeded in continuing into the formal system.
He stated that his Organization continued to deliver functional literacy alongside advocating for the use of mother tongue as medium of instruction in the three formative years of the child's education.
Alhaji Hussein noted that "this was not an easy nut to crack" as many Ghanaians have a negative attitude towards the use of the mother tongue in the schools.
According to him, there were many who held the view that teaching the children in their mother tongue was a waste of time and primitive.
Alhaji Mohammed Abdul-Rahman Shani, Zabzugu/Tatale District Director of Education, who received the books on behalf of the schools, said with the large quantity of primers donated by the NGO in the Primary Schools particularly in Kindergarten one to Primary three had come at the right time.
Alhaji Shani said 142 teachers drawn from Primary one to Primary two were attending five days training workshop on the National Literacy Accelerated Programme in the District and will be back to help teach in all the languages spoken in the District.
He indicated that this will enable the teachers to deliver effectively, because some of the children cannot perform in Dagbani and said the District has 56 Kindergarten, 93 Primary Schools and two Senior High Schools.
Alhaji Shani assured School For Life that their relationship with Ghana Education Service will continue to be strengthened.
In an address delivered on his behalf, Mr. Umar Abdul Wahab commended the Organization for their kind gesture.
Mr. Umar said they should not see English Language to be better than their mother tongue because there are other people like the Chinese who use their mother tongue as medium of instruction as well as a national language.
He assured them that the books will be put into the purpose they have been provided and called on the teachers to ensure that the books were used to benefit the children in the schools.