Some 21 teachers from France are coming to Ghana to support the teaching of French Language, Deputy Minister of Education, Rev. John Niim Fordjour has said.
According to him, the move forms part of the government’s policy to promote integration in the sub-region and pursue rapid socioeconomic development, beyond the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFIA) and other regional cooperations.
Signing the memorandum of understanding on project mobility of French teachers between the Government of Ghana and International Organisation of La Francophonie (IOF) on Wednesday, the Deputy Minister stated that the learning of French had become an essential condition for the country.
“This brings excitement on our part as government and Ministry of Education to be able to enter into another important agreement, the second of which in this particular year,” he stated, adding “We are excited in Ghana by the pursuit of promoting the learning of French in all our schools.”
“We have a President who himself is a very fluent French speaker. And in all the commitments that he has made, not just in words but beyond the talks since 2006, Ghana has been consistent in our commitment to promoting the learning of French in our schools and various institutions.”
“This has culminated into various agreements that we have signed and pursued both at the bilateral level with the good people and government of France and also on the multilateral level with the International Organisation of La Francophonie,” he said.
“Anglophone countries have a lot to catch up and bring French proficiency in our society to the level that is optimum, and that is why Ghana is excited in committing to every intervention that will ensure that we pursue the learning of French very meaningfully,” he asserted.
The French Ambassador to Ghana, Anne Sophie AVE said “your neighbours are all French speakers. I understand that if you want to cross the borders in Ghana it either you | speak French or you can swim,” she stated humorously.
According to the ambassador, it is an open secret that President Nana Akufo-Addo, who is a perfect francophonie, has expressed the will to make French a second language here in Ghana, saying “it is key when you want to look for a job and do business with your neighbours, if the African Continental Free Trade Area is going to be a real asset to export and work together with your direct neighbours.”
Head of OIF, Trem Thi Hoang Mai said the MoU was a framework cooperation agreement for the launch of the mobility project for teachers in and of French in Ghana.
“This signature crowns the joint work of the International Organisation of La Francophonie and the Republic of Ghana to strengthen French language teaching in the country,” she stated.
She explained that the teacher mobility project is one of OIF’s flagship projects and they intend to use it to strengthen the quality of learning French.
—DGN online
