Togo

Superimposed on the linguistic, ethnic, and social mosaic of Togo is the French language and culture. In spite of the legally designated "trust" territory status, after independence on April 27, 1960, Togo was, for all practical purposes, a French colony and remained within the French sphere of influence, including the Franc zone and a commonwealth-like association of Francophone countries. Inevitably Togo has inherited a wholly French educational system in programmatic structure, curriculum, and language of instruction at all levels. French is also the official language used in government and the practical language for all commercial activity. This is not to suggest that Éwé and Kabiyê, and indeed any of the other Togolese languages, are excluded. Togolese languages have in fact a surprising degree of presence in all facets of life at the informal level, including informal exchanges between teachers and students at all educational institutions.

The government, in power since 1969, instituted in the late 1970s and early 1980s the adoption of two African languages, indigenous to Togo, as national languages. The two are Éwé and Kabiyê, sometimes spelled as Kabyê or Kabrê. In 1977 the government established a pedagogical research institute, Direction de la Formation Permanente de l'Action et de la Recherche Pedagogique (DIFOP) to produce Éwé and Kabiyê textbooks and generally oversee the training and preparation of teachers for these two languages. DIFOP was located on the campus of the University of Benin (Université du Benin) in Lomé. The ultimate intention was to replace French, the colonial language, with the two designated Togolese languages. Concurrent with the switch in language was the intention to "nationalize" the curriculum so as to be more Togo sensitive and to produce educated citizens in harmony with Togolese culture and the needs of Togo. Mr. Kondé Gnon-Samwa, Director of DIFOP at the time, in a speech in 1979 at a conference organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Dakar claimed that more than 2,000 primary school teachers were trained to teach the two languages in question and that more than 7,000 pieces of instructional material were distributed to various schools. However, the financial component of such a linguistic transformation is staggering. The results as of 2001 are inconclusive, and the effort is inevitably slow. As a result French continues to dominate the formal aspects of Togolese life, including the educational system.

There is a concern among some Togolese that the effectiveness of French, currently the only medium of education and the communicational medium of society's infrastructure and commercial life, will be reduced prematurely. There is evident decline in the instructional standards of the French language. Formal and universal instruction of Éwé and the use of Éwé, and of Kabiyê for that matter, in formal and official contexts is not yet feasible. Also the capacity for enforcing universal education at the primary level is absent. The rate of failure from one grade to the next is exceptionally high. The numbers of enrollees appear high in official statistics because of the large numbers of repeaters. This is especially true at the university level.

The United States Information Services has a strong presence in Lomé. It offers nightly classes to large numbers of young Togolese adults. The role of the United States in the world lends credence to the need for English language competence. The strongest effort for English language within the educational system is at the university level. To fulfill this need the University of Benin has a very strong English department.

Togo's educational system is highly restricted. It is broadest at the primary level then sharply reduced at the secondary level and even more sharply reduced at the university level. Moreover, Togolese society lacks a traditional system of formal education in the context of its respective ethnolinguistic communities that might possibly apply throughout the country.