The government has announced plans to develop a sustainable policy for the development and use of Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL) in the country’s education system.
The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, said the Ministry would collaborate with stakeholders to formally recognise and institutionalise GSL.
At a dialogue on “Strengthening Quality Multilingual Inclusive Education for Deaf Learners in Ghana” in Accra, he said the policy would address one of the most important issues in deaf education in the country.
“Ghanaian Sign Language is not simply a communication technique for many deaf Ghanaians; it is a language through which they express themselves, develop their identity and participate fully in society,” he said.
Mr Iddrisu added that the government recognised the need for a clear and sustainable policy framework for the development and use of GSL in education.
He said the framework would be aligned with Ghana’s constitutional, legal and international commitments and would be evidence-based, inclusive and carefully coordinated.
The Minister outlined eight key areas the policy would address, including the standardisation and development of GSL and the documentation of appropriate terminology, including academic and scientific vocabulary.
Other areas would include the preparation of teaching and learning materials and the training and certification of sign language teachers and interpreters.
The policy would also incorporate sign language competencies into relevant teacher education programmes and ensure the recruitment and deployment of appropriately trained personnel.
Mr Iddrisu said it would further provide for accessible assessment practices, strengthen bilingual and multilingual approaches to teaching deaf learners, and ensure systematic monitoring of learning outcomes.
He stressed that the recognition of GSL must translate into real educational opportunities and improved learning outcomes rather than remain a policy declaration.
Touching on multilingual education, the Minister said Ghana’s linguistic diversity made the concept particularly important.
“For deaf learners, multilingualism should recognise the role of Ghanaian Sign Language alongside written and spoken languages encountered in school and society,” he said.
Mr Iddrisu said the government was advocating an approach that would enable deaf learners to develop strong foundational competencies in GSL while progressively acquiring literacy in written English and other languages relevant to their communities and educational pathways.
He noted that children learnt best when they understood and actively participated in the learning process, hence the need to prioritise participation.
The Minister said the ultimate measure of success should not be the number of learners with disabilities enrolled in school, but whether they were learning, reading and communicating effectively.
He said success should also be measured by learners’ acquisition of numeracy and digital skills, their progression through the education system, and their ability to gain skills for further education, employment and independent living.
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