Ya-Na Abukari (II), the Overlord of Dagbon, has endorsed a Dagbanli Literacy project, which seeks to ensure that school children in the Dagbon Traditional Area read and write in their mother tongue.
The project is dubbed: “Partnering to Mobilise and equip for Sustainable Mother Tongue Education in Dagbon 2023–2024.”
He has accordingly urged all the Chiefs and communities in the Dagbon Traditional Area, to fully support the project to achieve its intended objectives.
Ya-Na Abukari (II) gave the endorsement when officials of Literacy and Development through Partnership, the implementers of the project, paid a courtesy call on him at the Gbewaa Palace at Yendi in the Northern Region.
The courtesy call was to seek Ya-Na’s blessings for the successful implementation of the project.
The Overlord said he was worried about the current situation where most Dagomba children in school could neither read, write or even know the Dagbani names of the country’s currency and rather say them in English Language.
He noted that this was not good for the development of the traditional area, saying all hands must be on deck to change the narrative.
Mr John Alhassan Issah, the Project Coordinator at Literacy and Development through Partnership, informed the Overlord about the poor reading competencies among basic school children in the traditional area.
He said research by UNICEF in 2020 had shown that about 89 per cent of Dagomba children, between the ages of seven and 14, lacked foundational reading skills, adding that “Of these statistics, only 11 per cent can read, which is embarrassing and unacceptable.”
Mr Abdulai Elihu Wumbei, the Director of Literacy and Development through Partnership, expressed gratitude to the Overlord of Dagbon for endorsing the project, which he indicated was a very critical component of the development of the area.
He thanked the Overlord for generously donating to the funds being raised locally to sustain the project.
