Did you know that after Ghana gained its independence in 1957, education became the political main objective? Because of this, it led to many changes, strengthening the education system. Not only that, but also provided Ghana with higher education. BBC news once stated, “Ghana is endowed with a good education system”. Hmm we wonder why? That’s because when you hear the word education you think of the undergoing of learning, where you attain knowledge, skills, and experiences, that you could eventually use to help advance yourself in the future. Well Ghana on the other hand, although they believe in the formal practice of education, but they also had their own targets.
Ghana current education operates on 6-3-3-4 systems. That means six years of primary education, three years of junior secondary school, three years of senior secondary school, and four years of a college university. The primary language for their teachings is English. By the 1950’s there was approximately 3,000 primary and secondary schools. Amongst the 4.2 million population of Ghana, 6.6 percent of the total population attended school.
Well at what age do children start schooling? Throughout most of the rural areas of Ghana, children start school at an early age, as early as 4 to 6 years old and on. But do you think all children have the opportunity to attend school. There are some areas where things run a little bit differently. Unfortunately, in the rural areas located in the Upper Manya District of the eastern region, children cannot attend school until the age of nine. And even when they turned the age of nine, only if they were capable of traveling two hours everyday to school, then they will be able to attend. That’s because along their journey to school, the roads were very bad and had huge potholes. So to ensure the safety of the child, they would not be able to attend school, unless seen as a child who could travel safely without any injuries.
-This here is an image of school built in one of the villages located in the rural areas. A non profit organization called the EbbyMay foundation was nice enough to provide them with a building of schooling. It’s made up of bamboo sticks and mud. If you look closely you see the desk and chairs.
But less about that, let’s get back to the good stuff. In the early generations, the first nine years of schooling was free of charge, but afterwards money was required for students to learn. Well remember Dr. Kwame Nkruma, the man who helped lead Ghana’s independence from Britain. In 1961 he initiated an act to promote free primary education for Ghanaian’s. The act was called The 1961 Education Act. Because of him, once again taking a leadership role in the country, education became free of charge for the whole 16 years.
They even get the advantage of being awarded money when enrolling into universities in the United States. Each year new students are enrolled, five million dollars in financial assistance, is given to them. Could you just imagine what that covers? That’s basically their cost of attendance, books, food, transportation, and any other expenses. Also, about 2,863 Ghanaians are enrolled into 600 institutions throughout all fifty states of America. Not to mention, that most of them are even accepted into credible and competitive universities.
-Here’s an image of two Ghana students learning in school. I like this image because it represent similar values compared to my experience in school. You see the one on one experience children have with the teachers, in order to help them understand what they are learning clearer.
Now see, I never questioned how the education system in Ghana would be. Also, I never had any thought of it as well. Going to a diverse university, such as Penn State, I happened to come across a few individuals from the country Africa itself. Even met a girl from the state Ghana as well. Getting to know about their education system as a whole, I see it’s not much different then mines. But I also was able discover slight differences compared to my experience with schooling. For example, just to know that children in certain villages of rural areas cannot attend school due to bad roadways left me feeling sympathy for them. Especially because I was granted the opportunity to walk to school on nicely paved roads or catch transportation. In due time, I hope the government can fix those issues or have fix those issues, because every child shall be entitled to a education no matter what!
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