Kwesi Pratt has downplayed the relevance in studying French language in Senior High Schools as widely held by the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo.
President Nana Akufo-Addo has disclosed that his government plans to make the study of French language compulsory in all Senior High Schools from next academic year in September.
The government intends to make the language compulsory to promote neighborliness between Ghana and her neighboring countries.
The President made this remark in Togo during a two-day official visit to the country.
According to him, Ghana, which is surrounded by three Francophone countries should be proficient in the French language.
“[I’m] strongly for making French a compulsory language in our schools right up to the end of Senior High School. I’m fortified in taking this decision because as far back as 10 years ago when I left Ghana into la Francophone I did so in Bucharest. The decision was that the Francophone organization will help us with the teachers of French in the schools because at the end of the day everything you did in the education always comes back to the teachers,” he said.
But Kwesi Pratt disagrees with the government because to him, the French language doesn't have an international appeal as compared to the Hausa language.
Contributing to a panel discussion on Friday's edition of "Kokrokoo" on PeaceFM, Mr. Pratt preferred Hausa takes precedence over the French language, and therefore called on the government to make the study of Hausa compulsory instead of French.
“If you want to introduce common language in West Africa to facilitate trade and so forth, the most widely spoken language in West Africa is Hausa not French or English. I don’t know anywhere in Ghana that they don’t speak Hausa. Nigeria which is the largest economy in West Africa, Hausa is the dominant language and so on. So, if we want to promote West Africa trade and so on, why would we promote French instead of Hausa? Hausa is the dominant language in West Africa and Hausa has become an international language…”
To him, Hausa should become the official language in the nation.
“If Hausa is already the widest spoken language in West Africa, why don’t we use Hausa? Why don’t we develop Hausa to become the official language of West Africa if that is what we want? Why do you go for French?
“…so what future are we looking at? Are we looking at the next 5 years? Are we looking at the next 30 years? Are we looking at the next 100 years? What projections have we made that we’re saying French should be a compulsory language in our Senior High Schools?” he questioned.
Mr. Pratt backed his assertions with a claim that "language is carried on the back of economic development and development in scientific technology if your influence in the world is what makes the language grow and thrive” and so if the government wants to market the country, then the choice for French isn't the sure way.
"...if we’re taking a global approach to language as an instrument for business and so on, why French? Why not Chinese? Chinese is more widely spoken than French…Chinese is becoming an international language today…” he said on Peace FM's Kokrokoo.
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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Kwasi Pratt, no worries at all. When you start issuing your newspaper, "The Insight" in Hausa, it will be a good a threshold for us to adopt Hausa as a national language.
I live in Belgium and wish I could speak the French language, but I refuse to understand why it must be compulsory. Then french are soo ***barred word*** they don't want to speak another person's language, 99% ofthe flemish can speak French and English making very easy to mingle with them but french people refused to learn the dutch
Pratt will not see anything good proposed by Nana Addo. He always tries to find fault with everything Nana proposes or introduces. Well, Mr Pratt, you are going to be shocked because more goodies are on the way and the people of Ghana are happy to have Nana Addo as their leader.
KWESI PRATT IS EMPTYYYY BARRELLLL. HE IS LIKE DORMAAHENE ALWAYS MAKING NOISEEE. PLEASE NPRATT TRY TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. YOU ARE MYOPIC AND TOO LOCAL.
A very influential Ghanaian professor once told me, if he had good command over the French language, he would have landed a good UN job. But because he couldn't speak french, he lost the job. Kwesi should just take a good look around and see all the big international appointments in the world in general and on the African continent in particular and the people who occupy such appointment and he would realize the wisdom in Nana Addo's proposal. I want to agree with an earlier contributor that Kwesi comments in relation to this french proposal is laden with politics and tribalism, but thank God, the right thinking Ghanaian knows him for who is.
Hahahaha....The NDC is gone now Kwesi is irrelevant now he is just making loud noises to be relevant in our national affairs.
i will learn neither french nor hausa, both nana & pratt are talking shittttt
Dont be silly, nana & pratt. noooonsense to both nana & pratt. we cannot even speak english well , let alone french. learn hausa for what? to chat with boko haram? Nobody is going to learn any outside language. Instead of u to find means of teaching science and arts in our local languages, look at the fuuuuuulish honor both of u are bestowing on non-ghanaian languages. jimmmmifuor
He has problem. He should send all his children to learn Hausa.
this man always think negatively. Where are we taking hausa? If I had taken my French seriously, l would have better off in the states. Hausa for what?