The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrissu, has assured the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, that the government would integrate Ga, Dangme and twelve other Ghana Education Service–approved languages into future digital and AI-driven education initiatives, including Google’s Gemini platform.
He gave the assurance when he visited the Ga Mantse and the Ga Traditional Council at the Ga Mantse Palace in Accra yesterday.
This followed public concern over reports suggesting the omission of the Ga and Dangme languages from the country’s language-in-education policy and emerging artificial intelligence language initiatives.
“It will be unthinkable for the government to pursue the use of indigenous Ghanaian languages and exclude Ga and Dangme,” he said.
Mr Iddrissu explained that recent publications about discussions with Google on artificial intelligence (AI) language tools had created misunderstanding and anxiety.
He said an initial inclusion of Dagbani and Ewe formed part of a non-governmental pilot project on AI language recognition and translation, and did not represent an official policy decision.
The minister arrived at the palace with an entourage that included the Deputy Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Rita Naa Odoley Sowah; the Member of Parliament (MP) for Odododiodioo, Alfred Nii Kotey Ashie; the MP for Okaikwei South, Ernest Adomako, and the Technical Advisor to the Minister of Education, Prof. George Kweku Toku Oduro.
During the visit, the Ministry of Education donated GH¢100,000 to support the Ga Mantse Education Fund as part of efforts to strengthen education within the Ga State.
Mother-tongue learning
The minister added that the government had committed itself to multilingualism that reflected Ghana’s identity and respected the status of Greater Accra as the administrative capital.
Mr Iddrissu stressed that the government had prioritised the use of indigenous languages to improve learning outcomes, particularly at the foundational level of education.
“I’m one of the strong advocates of the use of indigenous Ghanaian languages to improve learning outcomes at the foundational level of learning,” he said.
He said the government aimed to strengthen curiosity, critical thinking and twenty-first century competencies among learners through culturally grounded education.
“We will not, for any reason, want to exclude Ga and Dangme or any of the authorised GES languages in the upbringing of our children,” he said.
Our identity
For his part, the Ga Mantse, Nii Teiko Tsuru, stressed the urgency of protecting and enforcing the teaching of Ga and Dangme within the Ga State.
“Our language is our identity. If we do not take steps to enforce its teaching and learning in the Ga State, it would have bad consequences,” he said.
He said language preservation remained central to cultural survival and social cohesion in the capital.
Nii Teiko Tsuru further called for the responsible and effective use of artificial intelligence to support linguistic development.
He urged authorities and technology partners to apply AI responsibly to enhance translation and interpretation between Ga-Dangme and English.
He said such tools could strengthen education, governance and cultural transmission if applied with respect for local languages and identity.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh