Ghana is set to introduce Mandarin Chinese lessons for kindergarten pupils in schools. The reform is intended to give children language skills for the global economy and strengthen education cooperation with China, which is one of Ghana’s largest trading partners.
Mandarin is already taught at some universities and educational institutions in the country, and the new policy will expand Chinese language learning to younger children.
As per the sources, thirteen subject areas are aimed at improving foundational learning and equipping pupils with 21st-century skills, values and ethics. It will mainly focus on a revised curriculum prepared by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) that aims at introducing or strengthening basic level education.
The newly revised curriculum for kindergarten and primary education include Ghanaian Language, English Language, Chinese, Arabic, French, Religious and Moral Education, along with Mathematics, Physical Education and Health, Creative Arts, Citizenship Education, Computing and Science (Agriculture), all are to be considered for primary education alone.
The revised curriculum, will cover Kindergarten to Primary Six, and was submitted to the Minister of Education – Haruna Iddrisu, in Accra on Wednesday, July 22, 2026 by the Director-General of NaCCA – Professor Samuel Ofori Bekoe, who led the committee on the curriculum revision.
Ghana 🇬🇭 is set to introduce Mandarin Chinese lessons for kindergarten pupils in schools.
The reform is intended to give children language skills for the global economy and strengthen education cooperation with China, one of Ghana’s largest trading partners.
Mandarin is… pic.twitter.com/iPbfOkNbxw
— Africa View Facts (@AfricaViewFacts) July 24, 2026
This rationale cited is China’s growing role in global trade and commerce, positioning the language as a practical skill for future generations rather than a purely academic pursuit. The emphasis on the course being both optional and limited to selected schools suggests a phased or pilot-style rollout rather than a nationwide rollout from the outset.
Learners will also receive basic exposure to artificial intelligence as part of the curriculum revisions, reflecting a broader push to equip pupils with foundational digital literacy at an early stage of their education. The full scope of implementation timelines and which schools will participate in the Mandarin pilot had not been detailed in the information made available at the time of publication.
Ghana’s parliament had approved a $300 million loan facility directed at expanding infrastructure across the country’s senior high schools. The financing was tied to the STARR-J Project, which targets infrastructure deficits in the secondary education sector. This initiative forms part of government efforts to end the double-track system introduced under the Free SHS programme.
Notably, China’s Consul General in Lagos – Yan Yuqing has called for the teaching of China’s Mandarin language in Nigerian schools also.