A rapid expansion of the various campuses of the Ghana Institute of Languages (GIL) and establishment of new campuses in other regions of the country, could see Ghana become a major destination point in the West African sub-region for the teaching of international languages.
Currently, GIL which is the only such centre in sub-Saharan Africa where one can enroll to learn languages such as French, Portuguese, German, Arabic, Spanish, English among others, from beginner level to that of Diploma or Degree, has only three (3) campuses comprising of Accra which is the main one, Kumasi and Tamale, according to the acting Director of the institute, Mr. Christopher K. Angkosaala.
Established in 1961 by Executive Instrument 114 called the Ghana Institute of Languages Instrument 1963, pursuant to the parent Act known as the Statutory Corporations Act, 1961 (Act 41), it was later repealed by the NLCD 324 of 1969 which is, to date, the governing law of the GIL. The mission of the GIL is to teach modern international languages in order to promote the socio-economic development and integration of Africa and international brotherhood. The GIL is also tasked to advise the government on language policy.
The GIL has five (5) divisions and they include the School of Translators based in Accra and Kumasi which awards the external Bachelor of Arts Degree (Legon); the School of Bilingual Secretaryship in Accra and Kumasi which awards the HND in Bilingual Secretaryship (English and French); the School of Languages in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale which awards the proficiency certificate in international languages (Arabic, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish; the fourth division which is research and publications, coordinates research work in the Institute and the fifh, the Translation Bureau, undertakes translation and interpretation contracts for the Institute.
Speaking at the maiden matriculation of the Tamale campus of GIL where eighty-seven (87) applicants were admitted to study French, Spanish, English and Arabic for the 2010/2011 academic year, Mr. Angkosaala, said it was the dream of the founding father that by the time the institute turned 50 years, it should be operating in every region of Ghana in order to bring bilingualism to the doorstep of everyone but that dream was yet to materialized.
Adding, “there is still a lot of road to cover in this regard: our plans to open a branch in Takoradi in 2004 did not materialize; the next branch to be opened after Takoradi is Ho, and that too is still on the drawing board”.
According to him, the issue of accommodation space for existing campuses was still haunting the institute, adding “the Accra campus since 1961, operated from the same building until October, 2010 when we partially moved into an 18-unit classroom block”.
Mr. Angkosaala further noted that, an auditorium project in Accra, started in 2003, was now about 82% complete.
The Acting Director of the Ghana Institute of Languages however, mentioned that management had acquired some land at Nyankpala and are about to buy a vast stretch of land in Sewua for the future expansion of the Tamale and Kumasi branches respectively.
Meanwhile, Mr. Christopher Angkosaala appealed to stakeholders to assist management deal with two serious challenges which are prime factors for the exponential success of the institute citing the passage of a new Act for the GIL and the review of the salaries and conditions of service of staff to reflect its tertiary status.
He also encouraged all residents of Northern Ghana irrespective of their age, confession, call or profession, to enroll at the Tamale branch because knowledge of languages would promote them.
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