The Centre for Gbagyi Language Development (CGLD) in collaboration with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERD) has concluded plans on the harmonised version of Standard Gbagyi Language Orthography to be thought in schools.
Chairman of the Centre, Arc Andrew Gaza, disclosed this to Blueprint, Tuesday shortly after declaring open the Gbagyi language orthography writing, critique 6-days editing workshop in Abuja.
According to him, the project will go beyond orthography as efforts would be made to include development of the curriculum, which would serve persons from elementary level to tertiary level of education in the country.
Gaza revealed that the workshop which includes intellectuals and stakeholders from the education sector will develop relevant education materials that will preserve Gbagyi language from extinction.
“At the end of this workshop which is going to deal with the writing, the critique and editorial, we are going to come up with a harmonised orthography of Gbagyi language.
“It will lead us to preparing a curriculum to work with Federal Ministry of Education, the local authority and basic education for us to commence teaching the Gbagyi language in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions.
“There is the need for continuous and adequate funding of the project as well as the search for experts in Gbagyi language, emphasised as the bedrock for success and uninterrupted project.
“The unity should be strongly encouraged and emphasised all the way among the Gbagyi at all levels, by putting aside differences along dialectical, religious and regional lines,” he said.
Prof. Ismail
Junaidu, Executive Secretary of NERDC, assured the Gbagyi centre of the council’s willingness to provide professional and intellectual expertise and guidelines towards achieving the goal.
He said Gbagyi language is very significant as any other Nigerian language as entrenched in the National Policy on Education, as the council is trying to get Nigerian languages recognised for social and political development of the country.
Junaidu implored the resource persons and stakeholders at the workshop to bring their expertise to adequately work on the harmonisation and updating of the Gbagyi language orthography.
