Students call for early release of funds

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10-09-08

GHANAIAN students studying modern languages in tertiary institutions have appealed to the government to urgently release funds for the 2008/2009 Year-Abroad-Programme.
The students, who are from the University of Ghana (UG), Legon, University of Cape Coast (UCC), University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the Ghana Institute of Languages (GIL), said the uncertainty hanging over the programme had given students great cause for concern because time was running out.
The Year-Abroad-Programme is to afford students studying modern languages the opportunity to acquire proficiency in the languages studied by going to the countries where those languages are spoken.
Addressing the press in Accra on Monday, Mr Placide D. Guiatin said students of UEW who were to go to Togo in July were still in the country not knowing what to do.
“Students of Swahili from the University of Ghana who are supposed to be getting ready to go to Tanzania are at home. Students of French, Arabic, Spanish, Russia from the UCC, KNUST, UG and School of Translators are supposed to be leaving at the end of the month but up till now we don’t know whether we will be going or not,” he said.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to come clear on the issue as a result of the uncertainties over the programme.
Mr Guiatin said the programme was to enable students to have first-hand experience in terms of cultural exchange and to be equipped enough to become good users, masters and teachers in the languages studied.
He said with the current situation, students from the University of Ghana and the School of Translators would be forced to stay at home for one academic year.
He said it was an undeniable fact that the human resource of a country was developed through good communication skills in various working languages, especially in the economic sector.
“Studying languages to a high level which plays a key role in the socio-economic development of the country will reduce drastically. This is because students opt to offer languages at the university with the hope of entering the Year-Abroad-Programme to help them polish their languages, knowing very well that it is difficult if not impossible, to study foreign languages in Ghana,” he said.