SPECIAL EDITIONS -ARCHIVE OF MONTHLY & ARCHIVE OF SEMESTER END
Most Recent Semester End Project - Special Education Report: Kumasi Schools, Ghana
The one thing that you notice right away in Ghana is people's passion for education. From north to south and everything in between, you can not pass through a large city or a tiny village without spotting a school (and sometimes two, three or four in one small area!) and kids in their school uniforms. Signs on the road advertise the importance of education and advanced training, and one of the first things kids will tell you about here is what school they go to and how important it is to keep learning. This also counts for adults who are also very proud to speak of their children and what grade or level they are in. Education here is not just about going to school each day, but it is about serious learning. After all, people here know that having the opportunity to learn, and the drive to study will not only allow them to become more informed, better trained and worldly people, but also give them a chance to be very successful in life. 
Want to see the schools we visited and the students we met during our stay in Kumasi? Check out these sections below:
What is School Like in Ghana?
How the Government Got Smart with Education
A Quick History of Ghana's Education System
Is Education Free Here?
Do All Kids Go to School?
Schools in Kumasi
What Kids Told Us
What is School Like in Ghana?
School for many kids starts at age three or four, with entry into Preschool. At age six, kids go to Primary school for six years, and then onto Junior Secondary School (JSS) for three years. Next is three more years in Senior Secondary School (SSS), and then exams. If you successfully pass your exams, you can then enter into a training college (e.g. teacher training), a polytechnic or a university. Here is a quick review:
- Preschool – Start at age 3
- Primary – Age 6
- JSS – Age 12
- SSS – Age 15
- Advanced education – Age 18
Although you expect a student, in let's say JSS to be no older than 15, this might not always be the case. Sometimes a student may need to delay a year of schooling because the family may not have enough money to support their schooling (especially after primary), the family may need extra help at home (e.g. kids may have to help work, care for brothers and sisters, etc.) or the school may not have enough teachers or facilities to ensure each student learns what they should in one year. For reasons like this, you do meet students who may be slightly older (Age 16 in JSS) than the bullet-list shows above, but it doesn't mean that the kids are learning any less!
How the Government Got Smart with Education
Not every developing country is as serious as Ghana is about education. Of course, there is always room for improvement in infrastructure (e.g. better school buildings and classroom facilities, electricity for every school, etc.) and resources (e.g. textbooks, pens, computers, notebooks, etc.), but one big reason the education system is at the level it is and continually improving is because of the government. The government has made education one of their top priorities for investment--in the last 10 years, the government has spent between 25-40% of the annual budget on education. Of course, this couldn't be done without a population that supports and encourages that investment in people and education.
So how much has the education system improved? One easy way to see it is with the number of schools and literacy rate of the population. In 1957, the year of Ghana 's independence from Britain, Ghana only had one university and a small amount of primary and secondary schools. Today there are about 7,000 preschools, 13,000 primary schools, 7,000 JSS, 500 SSS, 125 vocational schools, 9 polytechnics and 11 universities. What a great improvement in 50 years! Where will they be in the next 50?
The way the government has invested and encouraged education is also seen in the literacy rate, especially as compared to other developing countries. Of the 21 million people that live in Ghana, it is estimated that almost 75% of the population over the age of 15+ can read and write (2003 figures). Compare that to Burkina Faso, Ghana's neighbor, that has a 27% literacy rate, or nearby Nigeria at 68% or Mali at 46%. Ghana is quickly approaching the same level of literacy that the USA (97%) or UK (99%) has.
A Quick History of Ghana's Education System
Another thing that 
is very apparent in Ghana is the number of schools that are affiliated with a religion, especially Christianity. From St. Francis to St. Paul, and God's Basic School to Praise Academy, it is hard to miss the influence missionaries have had on the education system here. Let me start with a little history...
Traditionally, education in Ghana, just like in many other countries, was primarily based on apprenticeship, or the transmission of skills from teacher to student (e.g. seamstress, blacksmith, drummer, etc). This type of ‘informal education' was very important, and still is in some professions, especially when it is important for a person to learn a skill that can not be learned somewhere else.
But, as times have changed in Ghana, so has the education system. 
As there became a demand for a large amount of people to have the same kind of skills, (e.g. reading, writing, arithmetic, etc.), the type of education offered also needed to change. It became easier and more effective to have a group of students taught by one teacher in similar school settings, rather than each child taught individually. Here are a few important highlights on Ghana's education:
- Western-style education was introduced by missionaries around the 1760s and by the 1880s had grown to almost 150 schools.
- In the 1850s, the ruling British government introduced a tax to raise money for schools, although it failed.
- A Board of Education was started in the 1880s to inspect schools and standardize their management.
- Secondary education was introduced in the early 1900s.
- In 1919, Governor Guggisberg, delivered a 10-year education development plan that stressed the need for better teacher training, education for girls, more emphasis on vocational training and the need for more secondary schools. The goal was to have educated Ghanaians replace Europeans in some of the key government positions.
- In the 1930s and 40s, demand for education reached such high levels that the current education system could not support it. As a consequence, hundreds of schools were opened by local groups and individuals, which helped add to the already available public schools.
- In the 1950s and 60s, the Ministry of Education took responsibility to provide every child with a basic education (although this didn't really happen until recently), to train teachers and provide some funding to schools.
- Starting in 2006, the government supports free primary education for all children.
Is Education Free Here?
As noted above, now all kids in Ghana can attend primary school for free—great news! Although this means the government pays the school fees of each child, this doesn't mean school is entirely free. Kids still need to pay for their own textbooks (brand new school books for 1 year of secondary school cost one student in Techiman 190,000 cedis or about $19. Compare that with the standard wage here, by checking the previous bi-weekly report.), pens and pencils, notebooks, lunch and their school uniform. For many families, education is top priority and available funds go to the kids schooling, but sometimes there isn't enough money to go around. But, hopefully, with continued government and private investment and support, this will change over the years.
Do All Kids Go to School?
Most children in Ghana attend primary school, and more and more, attend JSS. Of the students that graduate JSS, only about 30% pass their exams and can enter into Senior Secondary School. After completing SSS, only about half of these students gain admission to further education. These numbers don't seem very high, but this can be for a variety of reasons—students don't successfully complete their exams, lack of teachers or resources makes learning difficult, lack of quality schools nearby, or the fees for the next level of education may be too high. Over the next years, as education continues to improve, these numbers should also improve.
There are also many different types of schools in Ghana. There are public schools and private schools. The main difference is the amount of funds each school receives--public schools are supported by government money, and private schools are supported by individuals, organizations or families that pay the school fees.
Schools in Kumasi
We were able to find our first-hand what it is like to go to school in Ghana . We were able to visit many schools in Kumasi that use this program, and meet school kids just like you! They told us about what a typical day is like for them, their favorite subjects and what they want to be when they grow up. We also met the teachers and had a tour of the school.
Let me start by introducing a few of the schools we went to:
St. Francis Junior Secondary School (JSS)
|
Location: About 10km outside Kumasi, Ghana's 2nd largest city, in a suburb. 
4BN Junior Secondary School (JSS)
|
What Kids Told Us
Do you want to meet some of the Kids we met and learn about what their life is like? Don't forget to also check out Photos and the Videos, where you can see and hear the Kumasi students yourself.
What is the typical school day like for a kid in Kumasi? Most kids get up around 5 in the morning (some earlier), and help by cleaning the house, preparing breakfast, or helping with younger brothers and sisters. Around 6:00, it is time to walk to school. School usually starts around 7:30 or 8:00.
There usually is a break around 10:00 for a game of volley, football (soccer) or hanging out with your friends, and then a break around 12 for lunch. School ends between 2:00-3:00 and it is then time to go back home. Most kids spend the evening studying, helping with chores or playing with friends. The family usually joins together for dinner around 6, and then it is time for a bit of cleaning up and relaxing. Most kids are then off to bed around 9 or 10.
Here are a few other things we learned about the Kids we met at all different schools:
| School | |
| What do you do when you GET TO SCHOOL in the morning? | Most kids come to school between 5:30-6:30. Many of them help clean the school classrooms and grounds before school starts. If there is time, they also like to play games with their friends. |
| What time does SCHOOL START? | Classes usually start between 7:30-8:00, depending on the school. |
| HOW LONG are classes? | Classes usually last about 45 minutes. |
| What are your FAVORITE SUBJECTS | Most of the kids we talked to liked Science class the best. |
| How do you GET TO SCHOOL? | Most kids in JSS that we met lived close to school and usually walked about 15-20 minutes to get there. Depending on the size of the town, kids usually went to a nearby larger town to go to Senior school or Schools for Advanced Studies. This usually meant living with family or friends or going to a boarding school. |
| What do you WEAR to school? |  All kids we met wore uniforms to school. You can tell what type of school someone goes to by the color of their uniform. For example, public schools wear brown and light orange/camel; and Presby (Presbyterian) schools wear blue and white. |
| What happens if you GET IN TROUBLE? | Usually the biggest thing kids got in trouble for was being late to school. This usually meant having to weed the school grounds or being slapped with a cane. One student who was 16 told us that he was late 2 times in primary school, and after that, never late again! |
| What do you EAT for lunch? | Most kids bought their lunch at school, usually from ladies running a food booth, just outside the school ground, who sold all kinds of dishes. |
| Do you like your TEACHERS? |  Every student we talked to thought very highly of their teachers and were very appreciative of them. Students definitely respected their teachers! |
| How do you GREET your teachers in the morning or guests who are visiting? | That is easy--the entire class stands up and says something like Good Morning, Good Afternoon or Welcome. |
| Do you have TOILET facilities? |  Of course! Depending on the school, the toilets may be outside or inside the school. Some had running water and others didn't. |
| Family | |
| How many KIDS are in your FAMILY? | There was a wide range here--anywhere between 3 and 10 brothers and sisters, but most had somewhere around 5 kids in the family. |
| Do you want to get MARRIED and have CHILDREN? | Every student we met wanted to get married someday, but most of them wanted smaller families than their parents had. Most wanted about 3 kids. Why we asked?...because it is hard to support many kids and give them a (financial) good future. |
| Are BOTH of your PARENTS living with you at home? | Just like all families in the world, we met kids who have both parents at home and others with one parent (usually the kids lived with the mother.) |
| Do you spend a lot of time with your EXTENDED FAMILY? Do they live close to you? | Most everyone spent a good amount of time with their aunts, uncles and cousins, but didn't live with them in the same village or house. It was very obvious that extended family is very important, and in many families where the father had died or left, many people in the extended family helped each other out in day to day things. Some of the favorite things to do with extended family was to meet at church and celebrate things together. |
| Do both of your PARENTS WORK? | Fathers always seemed to do some sort of work, and so did the Mothers. Most Moms, in addition to taking care of the Kids, were 'traders', meaning they made and sold things at the stores and markets. |
| Entertainment/Games/Chores | |
| What are your FAVORITE GAMES to play with your friends? | Football, computer games, watching tv, reading, playing with friends, clapping/singing games, jumping rope-like game with an elastic band, etc. |
| What are your FAVORITE SPORTS? |  Without question, FOOTBALL (Americans call it soccer). Both boys and girls like to play games a lot! The next favorites were volley (volleyball) or athletics (e.g. running). |
| What do you do after school? Do you have CHORES? | After school, most kids did their homework. Most girls also helped their mothers with cooking and cleaning, and most boys seemed to play games, study and occasionally help out with chores. |
| Food | |
| What is your FAVORITE FOOD? | Everyone's favorite food, by far, was fufu. Next favorites were usually banku or rice dishes. (You can read more about local favorites in the last Ghana bi-weekly report.) |
| Future | |
| What do you want to be when you GROW UP? | We talked to boys and girls, most of whom wanted be Doctors. Others wanted to be a Journalist, Singer, Business Manager or Teacher. |
Don't forget to check out the Photos and Videos of Kumasi schools as well!
***MONTHLY SPECIALS on AFRICA-RELATED TOPICS***
|
WATER|
TIME TO BE CREATIVE We want to know what you learned by
The Team will select the 3 best ones and feature those on the site first! We can't wait to hear from you! Have a question? Ask your Teacher about your class project. |
following the Tire Tracks team through Africa! How many countries are there? What animals did you learn about? What was your favorite place the team visited? Were the schools the team visited like your school? 
Your Class can share what you learned by submitting a story, video, photo collage, drawing, presentation, etc. You can start sending them to us in May and we will put them on this page. You can check out what other students submitted as well! 