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Lack of access to education for sustainability
Education in Poor Rural Areas
Ministry of Education, Government of Ghana. 2003. Education Strategic Plan (2010-2020)
Despite overall national development, wealth is unevenly distributed in the country and the quality of basic education remains low in the state system, particularly in the rural areas and the poor, urban slums. The three northern regions (Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions) have especially high poverty rates and lag behind in education.
Formidable obstacles to education include:
• A shortage of trained teachers willing to work in poor rural areas.
• Teacher absenteeism.
• Poverty forcing children to work instead of attending school.
• Hidden costs of schooling such as uniforms and books.
• Poor supervision of teachers leading to abuse of pupils.
• Inadequacy of toilets & sanitary facilities which particularly affect the enrolment & retention of girls.
• Lack of books and teaching/learning materials hampering pupils’ ability to learn.
Expert´s opinion
Susan Smith March 2013
Lack of access to education is a big problem for people, particularly in practical sustainability that is directly relevant to their lives. Once they have the right knowledge and skills, anybody can turn their land into an abundant paradise full of food and materials, to meet all their own needs and still have a healthy surplus to sell. But how to get this knowledge? And who has time to study or money to pay for courses or books or travelling to training centres or colleges when they are struggling just to get their daily bread?
Once we teach people permaculture, they start to share it with their neighbours. It is a practical system and a hands-on knowledge that even illiterate people can engage with, and once people see the positive results it delivers, then they want to try it too.
We want to train more local permaculture teachers to go into rural communities across Ghana to take sustainability education to the people, where they are, and make it accessible to them. This will give them the tools they need to redesign their homes and their communities to solve their problems.
Solution of a shortage of trained teachers willing to work in poor rural areas.
Marialejandra RodrÃguez Arango 2014
Name of Project: Volunteer Teachers Program.
This project would be carried out in developed countries, looking for people with the skills and willingness to help children and African girls.
Action Plan: Volunteers would be college graduates, who have the time to attend and teach children in ghana. Each volunteer would provide service for six months
Aims: The volunteer program would have to exchange experiences and knowledge of newly graduated teachers in their way as teachers.
also to promote intercultural opportunities with the aim of strengthening musical knowledge, and both volunteers and children and youth of the Foundation with a personal learning and growth.
Expert opinion
Although development in Ghanaian education has improved in recent years. This development is highly segmented. Taking that 84% of children living in cities with education, while only 36% of children living in remote communities have access to it.
It is important UN suggests that the development of education is well distributed in the country, puetso is the only tool that brings the country's progress. Moreover, education, being a human right, should be guaranteed equally to the whole community that makes up the country.
