Abstract:
The use of the familiar language of learners as medium of instruction (MoI) promotes
quality education. However, sixty years after independence, Ghana is still grappling
with the issue of which language to use in education. Currently, the language policy
of education in Ghana mandates the use of the child’s first language as MoI only up to
Primary Three. This paper uses both primary and secondary sources to argue that the
current language policy violates the Linguistic Human Rights (LHR) of the Ghanaian
child. To end this violation, the paper argues for the addition of more L1s as MoI,
the cultivation of a positive attitude towards the use of L1 as MoI, the constitutional
provision on the obligatory use of L1 as MoI, the establishment of structures to monitor
the implementation of the language policy and a sociolinguistic study of language
representation in the lower primary classroom
