Ghana to introduce Chinese language curriculum into basic schools nationwide

Vincent Assanful, chairman of the Governing Board of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), speaks at the 10th anniversary of the Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Coast (CIUCC) in Cape Coast, capital of Ghana's Central Region, Dec. 15, 2025. Ghana is set to formally introduce the study of the Chinese language into basic schools across the country in early 2026, Assanful said Monday. (Xinhua/Seth)

ACCRA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Ghana is set to formally introduce the study of the Chinese language into basic schools across the country in early 2026, a government official said Monday.

Speaking at the 10th anniversary of the Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Coast (CIUCC), Vincent Assanful, chairman of the Governing Board of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), said that the council has engaged in high-level technical collaboration with officials from the Confucius Institute over the past months on the new Chinese language curriculum.

According to him, a draft Chinese language curriculum, tailored to suit the Ghanaian context without losing its originality, has been developed and is expected to be rolled out soon.

Assanful said that NaCCA identified the critical need to formalize the study of Chinese within Ghana's basic education system, as China is a global economic force and a key development partner to Ghana.

The official said that the two bodies have developed a draft Chinese language curriculum that is competency-based, contextually adaptive and structurally sound, fitting seamlessly into Ghana's common core program.

"We believe that the Chinese language, when our children are well-trained and versed in it, dealing with the Chinese in terms of trade, in terms of economics, and in terms of world politics, will inure to the benefit of the Ghanaian," Assanful told Xinhua.

Assanful urged the CIUCC to focus on the professional development of local teachers so they can become proficient in the new Chinese language curriculum, as it prepares to finalize and hand over the policy document for implementation. ■