"Education is a human right and we believe it is the only way of breaking the cycle of poverty," says Mr. Hamza Tijani, of Ibis West Africa.
In Ghana it has been argued that poverty in the three northern regions have affected its educational development.
It is against this back ground that at the launch of this year's Global Action Week of the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition, Mr. Tijani called on all and sundry to help make quality education a reality for all Children.
The newly launched 5th round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey compiled by the Ghana Statistical Service says in spite of slight decrease in poverty levels, the Upper East and West remain Ghana's poorest regions.
If poverty is still pervasive in the Northern Regions and some rural areas, despite dropping some parts of the country, what can we do to accelerate the growth opportunities there, particularly in agriculture and agrobusiness,? World Bank Country Director Mats Karlsson asked at the launch of the GLSS in Accra last week.
According to the Northern Network for Education Development (NNED) evidence gathered from rural communities like Tanchara, Lawra-Zombo and Wa Township in Upper West Region and Azinsum-Sumbrungu and Zongo in the Upper East region as well as Bagliga in Northern Region point to a denial of their educational right.
NNED Coordinator Eric Dourinaah said this is in spite of seven years into the Education For All (EFA) campaign and with the introduction of the Capitation grant and school feeding programme.
Dourinaah said majority of children interviewed were orphans, or girls and many come from very poor families. "These educational interventions means very little to them," he said adding, "their right to quality basic education and dignified life cannot be guaranteed if we continue to approach education delivery the way we do."
NNED has therefore called on the Ministry of Education to instruct District Directors of Education in the target areas to do further analysis of the evidence gathered and make real commitments to getting all these children into schools.
NNED said in the spirit of equity, central government through the ministry of Education should review existing interventions notably the capitation grant and school feeding programme. "Aside the ¢30,000 per child, a special fund allocation of the grant should be given to rural schools to support poor children and improve teaching and learning," Dourinaah said.
He also called on members of Parliament to demonstrate interest in the education of children in their constituencies by raising the plight of vulnerable children on the floor of Parliament whilst increasing direct support to needy children.
"MPs should let civil society know the quantum of such support so that they can monitor the outcome," he said.
Also frontline implementers of the New Education reforms should demonstrate genuine commitment to bridging the development gap between southern and northern Ghana and between Urban and rural communities by stressing issues of equity in all policy decisions.
"We need to see more action from our chiefs in the three northern regions," Dourinaah said adding, "With the breakdown of the extended family system, many vulnerable children are denied proper care including education."
Dourinaah however commended the government for providing good education for all children.
According to the coordinator for NNED, the introduction of the School feeding programme has brought gains to basic education and given the needed political will and resources.
According to the World Bank, in Sub-Saharan Africa an average of only 30% of each age cohort complete junior secondary education and 12% senior secondary education. This is a weak foundation for sustained economic and social development, especially at a time where in many countries economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is accelerating.
In one out of four African countries, half of the children enrolled at the end of primary school do not continue to the secondary level in the following year, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).
However, more than 85% of primary pupils make the transition in most countries of Europe, Asia, North and South America. Just one-quarter of African countries achieve similar results.
The UIS Global Education Digest 2005 monitored the flows of students moving from the primary to secondary level of education across the world. In Africa, only 62% of pupils complete primary education and are therefore ready to pursue their studies, compared to an average completion rate of 94% in North America and 88% in Asia.
According to the latest figures in the Digest, Africa has the lowest primary completion ratios in the world
In fact only eight reach this level: Algeria, Botswana, Cape Verde, Egypt, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa and Tunisia.
In 19 African countries, the ratios are 50% or lower, meaning that at least every second child does not complete primary school.
Only about one in three children will complete primary education in six countries including Niger (21%), Guinea-Bissau (27%), Burkina Faso (27%), Chad (32%), Burundi (32%) and Mali (33%).
Speaking at a Conference on Secondary education recently in Accra, the president of Ghana and Chairman of the African Union John Agyekum Kufuor promised to put in place measures to address the imbalances in the educational system in Ghana.
"Our aim is that the post junior high level should eventually become available to all Ghanaian youth and that the senior high school system should be organised both as terminal education with diversified outlets into the world of work.," President Kufuor said.
In terms of Contents of the Senior High School, President Kufuor said mathematics, computer studies, general science, social studies and English should be compulsory subjects in the first two years. He also said as soon as enough teachers are trained French will also become a compulsory subject.
The President said the constraints to the delivery of the projects including costs will be offset with funds from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) as well as other sources.
The World Bank says African countries will need to rapidly adapt their education system to develop the skills and talents of their young people across the full range of abilities.
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