I’m A Voltarian But I Support The Idea Of Using “Twi” To Teach In Our Schools- Dr. Mensah Mawutor

Dr. Kweku Mensah Mawutor, a lecturer at the University of Professional Studies has said even though he is a Ewe, he supports the initiative to use “Twi” as the medium of instruction in the various schools of the country. Speaking on the Good Morning Africa Show on Pan Africa TV yesterday ( December 9), Dr. Mawutor stressed that, research has shown that most of the countries that have developed did so using their mother tongue as a medium of instruction in their schools. He cited Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Malaysia, Japan among other countries whose educational systems are vibrant because they use their mother tongue.

According to him, he was totally in support when the former president John Agykum Kuffour suggested that the country use “Twi” as a medium of instruction in our schools. Dr. Mawutor however bemoaned how the suggestion was politicized. He stressed that the “Twi” language is the most popular in the country, and hardly will you go anywhere in Ghana and not meet people speaking it. Dr. Mawutor told a story of how he had roamed a market in Navrongo for more than thirty minutes without chancing on someone speaking their native language; all the people he had encountered spoke Twi.

“… He ( former president Kuffour) brought the conversation of making “Twi” a national language, maybe a second national language, means of instruction in our various schools, what happened? Politicized, and then some ethnic groups came in. But trust me, just like English, I’m not an Akan, I’m an Ewe, go to the Volta Region, in the market, they use “Twi” to trade. The first time I went to Navrongo market, I roamed the market for thirty minutes and I didn’t hear any of their native languages but Twi”, he said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mawutor charged the Ghana Institute of Languages to translate some of the materials learned in our schools to our local languages like it is done in other advanced countries where engineering, accounting, medicine among others are translated to the local languages.