Africa: a continent of contrasts
Education in Ghana: moving forward - Main Activity
My typical school day
Read this document which tells you about typical school days for school students in Ghana. You can also watch these videos.
Select a couple of the stories to concentrate on and think about how a typical school day for you is similar and how it is different. Write a paragraph or two describing your own day from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep. Explain to the reader how you feel as well as what you are actually doing.
Now describe two things that are similar and two things that are different when you compare your day to that of a student in Ghana.
Once students in Ghana have reached the age of 16 years, most will start work (if they haven't already). Those who carry on their education tend to do ‘vocational' courses.
- What is a vocational course?
- In a country where over half of the people still work on the land, what sort of practical work would be helpful to them?
- For those living in the large towns and cities, what kind of practical courses would help them find jobs?
The Ghana School Feeding Programme
Many children in Ghana do not attend school and there are many different reasons for this. One of the biggest problems in the past was that parents had to pay a fee plus they had to buy a uniform, books, pencils, etc. Now the government in Ghana has made education free, but parents still have to buy uniform, books and equipment.
Why do you think that the poorest people in Ghana, who are mostly farmers, cannot afford to send their children to school?
The government has also been experimenting in some areas of the country with a School Feeding Programme which provides all the children with a free school lunch.
You can read about the School Feeding Programme by following these links:
- School Feeding Programme article 1
- School Feeding Programme article 2
- School Feeding Programme article 3
- What effect do you think this project has had on school attendance in these areas?
- Why has this happened?
- Can you think of any problems that might be caused by encouraging more children to come to school?
- How might a School Feeding Programme help the local farmers near a school? Who else might benefit?