Second chances for Ghana's schoolchildren
3 September 2008
If you are a child of school age in Ghana and you are lucky enough to have a
place in school, there is still a high chance that your education will come to
an abrupt stop long before you've earned your qualifications, simply because
your family are too poor to keep you in class. Chances are you will then find
yourself locked out of the education system forever.
These children - the drop-outs who have little hope of returning to school - are amongst those that a DFID-supported scheme is aiming to help. The scheme provides "School for Life" lessons to out-of-school youngsters, where they pick up the skills that should get them into - or back into - full-time education.
Meeting children's needs
Each School for Life class has around 25 children, with an age-range of eight
to 14. With lessons focusing on basic literacy and numeracy, after nine months most
pupils (85%) pass a
test that enables them to enter school in grade three or four.
School
for Life has developed a model of teaching and learning which is well-suited to
the requirements of Ghana's children. As well as conducting lessons in the
mother tongue, it uses learning materials that are based on everyday life.
Classes are also specially designed to fit in with children's other
responsibilities, taking place in the afternoons in three hour blocks, after the
morning's farm work is safely out of the way. The nine-month terms are
themselves in line with the calendars of local communities.
Zechariah’s story
As
a young boy Zechariah Mawjeed was sent away from home to live with his uncle,
where his life revolved around helping take care of cattle rather than getting
an education. But thanks to School
for Life he was able to learn to read and write in his first language and then
enrol in the formal education system. He has since completed senior secondary
school and is now on course for university.
Zechariah talks enthusiastically about the second chance that School for Life
gave him and is eager to spread the word about it. "If you go to School for
Life," he says, "you will be able to join a normal school - you'll be able to
read any book and learn to do calculations."
In a relatively short time, Zechariah has come a long way - and he has every intention of keeping going and putting his education to good use. "The only challenge I had initially was learning to speak the English language," he says. "But I’ve overcome this. I hope to become a medical doctor so I can come back home and help my community."
Room for progress
Over the last ten years nearly 100,000 children have learned to read and write
with School for Life. Recognising the importance of the scheme in helping
children find a place in schools, Ghana's Ministry of Education has described it as
"a role model for future changes in primary schools in Ghana".
In the last three years, the numbers of six to 11 year olds in education in
Ghana has risen from 60 to 80%. So, progress is being made. But there are still over 600,000 children
between these ages who are not in school. DFID's support for School for Life
and for the Ghanaian Government's drive to provide all children with a primary
education aims to make sure that progress moves faster.
Facts and stats
- DFID Ghana has approved a grant of £1,140,000 to School for Life to implement the Literacy for Life Change project. The project is expected to run until December 2011.
- Literacy for Life Change is aimed at improving access to basic education in four districts in northern Ghana. Around 12,000 more children (half of them girls) will be provided with basic literacy and numeracy skills.
- DFID is also providing budget support of £100 million over ten years (2006 to 2015) to implement the Education Strategic Plan (ESP), which offers free basic education for all of Ghana's children.
Links
- UK makes long-term commitment to Ghana (includes information about Literacy for Life Change) - 3 September 2008
- How we fight poverty: Education
More about School for Life on the Unesco website
