Ghana has announced that Chinese will be introduced as an optional foreign language in its revised basic school curriculum, beginning from kindergarten. As someone who studied Chinese at the University of Ghana and later taught Chinese at Martyrs of Uganda Basic School in Santasi, Kumasi, I have mixed feelings about this development.
On paper, it is an exciting step. It recognizes the growing importance of China in Ghana’s economic and diplomatic landscape and offers students another language that could open doors in the future.
However, my biggest concern is implementation.
The government has emphasized that Chinese will be optional, which reinforces my belief that this policy may remain more of a curriculum document than a reality in most schools unless significant investments are made.
Where Will the Chinese Language Teachers Come From?
The first challenge is teacher availability.
How exactly does the government intend to recruit enough qualified Chinese language teachers? Will it rely on Ghanaian graduates, recruit teachers from China, or create a new teacher training program?
From my experience, the University of Ghana graduates roughly 200 Chinese language students each year. Since I graduated in 2021, I estimate that there are only around 2,000 Ghanaian Chinese speakers, excluding those who studied in China. While that may sound like a large number, it is extremely small when compared to the thousands of basic schools across Ghana.
Even if every graduate chose to become a teacher, which is far from reality, we would still face a significant shortage.
The Economics Don’t Add Up
The second issue is remuneration.
Before many Chinese language students even graduate, they are already working as translators, interpreters, business assistants, or freelance consultants. These opportunities often pay significantly more than teaching.
Some freelance translation assignments can pay as much as $100 per hour, while local interpretation work may pay between GHS500 and GHS1,000 for a day’s work. Full-time translators working with companies can earn between GHS8,000 and GHS10,000 per month.
By comparison, when I taught Chinese to primary school pupils, I earned about GHS1,000 per month.
The difference is enormous.
It is therefore not surprising that many graduates choose careers in business, translation, or international trade instead of education. Unless teaching salaries and career prospects improve, attracting qualified Chinese language teachers into basic schools will remain a major challenge.
Teaching Requires More Than Language Skills
Not everyone who speaks a language can teach it well.
Teaching is a profession that requires patience, training, and genuine passion. Personally, I have always enjoyed teaching. Even in high school, I found myself helping classmates understand subjects I was good at. Growing up in a family with several teachers also shaped my interest in education.
But passion alone cannot sustain a profession.
The question is not simply how many Chinese speakers Ghana has. The more important question is: how many of them actually want to become teachers, and what incentives exist to encourage them to do so?
Some Schools Are Already Leading the Way
The good news is that this idea is not entirely new.
Several schools have already introduced Chinese language programs successfully. These include the University of Ghana Basic School, the University of Cape Coast Basic School, Martyrs of Uganda Basic School in Santasi, Kumasi, where I taught, and a number of private schools in Accra.
These schools have demonstrated that Chinese language education can work when there are trained teachers, institutional support, and adequate resources.
The Real Test Is Equity
My biggest question is not whether elite schools can offer Chinese.
My question is whether a government basic school in a town like Elmina or many other rural communities across Ghana will realistically have access to qualified Chinese teachers, textbooks, and learning materials.
If only a handful of well-resourced schools are able to implement the curriculum, then the policy risks widening educational inequality rather than expanding opportunities.
Moving Beyond Policy Announcements
I welcome the government’s ambition to expose Ghanaian children to additional languages and prepare them for an increasingly global economy.
However, successful education policy requires more than announcing a new subject. It requires teacher training, competitive salaries, teaching materials, long-term funding, and a clear implementation strategy.
Without those investments, Chinese may remain a subject that exists in the curriculum but not in classrooms.
As someone who has studied Chinese, taught it, and witnessed both the opportunities and the challenges firsthand, I hope this policy becomes more than a symbolic announcement. I hope it becomes a practical investment that gives every Ghanaian child, not just those in a few privileged schools the opportunity to benefit from learning one of the world’s most influential languages.
I’m a Master’s Student at Renmin University Of China, studying Contemporary Chinese Studies. I am an alumnus of the University of Ghana, where I was a former executive of the Chinese Students Association Ghana. My interest in the Chinese language drives my passion for studying in China, its rise to global power, and how it relates to the international world, especially African Countries.
