Education and public schooling; health care
education and public schooling
article oneThe state provides free, universal, and compulsory education for 10 years, from age six. The academic year runs from September to August. English is the medium of instruction. Schooling consists of six years of primary school (followed by a two-year prevocational continuation course for those not going to secondary school) and seven years of secondary school, consisting of five regular years and two years of the sixth form, an advanced secondary course that prepares students for university work. Only one of five students entering secondary school reaches the sixth form. Ghana currently has 12,130 primary schools, 5,450 junior secondary schools, 503 senior secondary schools, 21 training colleges, and 18 technical institutions.
There are regional disparities in education, with significantly fewer children from the north attending school. In 2003 there was an overall national literacy rate of 74.8 percent, but the rural and largely Muslim north has a lower rate. National literacy efforts are coordinated by the People's Education Association, a voluntary organization with 134 branches. Approximately 1.8 percent of secondary-school students are in the vocational stream. Technical education is provided by primary-technical schools, technical institutes, and polytechnic schools. A number of private schools are run by foreign missions and churches, especially Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Anglican, and Methodist. Higher education is the responsibility of the National Council for Higher Education, an autonomous body. The universities are governed by academic boards responsible to the council. The five universities are the University ofGhana, the University of Science and Technology at Kumasi, the University of Cape Coast, the University for Development Studies, and the University College of Education. |
article twoAfter over a decade of efforts to making education accessible and affordable for all, the challenge of providing equitable access to and quality education for girls remains a critical challenge in many sub-Saharan African Countries including Ghana.
Access to quality education devoid of violence is regarded as a priority among other basic human rights by most nations and the international community. Key international protocols and conventions including the Education For All, Convention on the Rights of the Child, Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and Millennium Development Goals all have key provisions on the right to basic education for all. However Girl's enrolment declines progressively from the basic to the tertiary levels of education as indicated by declining GPIs from 0.97 at the primary level to less than 0.6 at the tertiary levels. The levels of retention, completion, and transition of girls at various levels of the formal education system strata also worsen progressively. This has resulted in the under representation of the needs and concerns of women and girls in socio-economic and political development processes of the country. This is against the background that females constitute about 51% of the total population of Ghana. Girls are less likely to attend school regularly than boys and if and when they attend class, they are less likely to concentrate and ask/answer questions because of the amount of house chores they are forced into undertaking. A girl may be asked to stay home to take care of a sick person/younger sibling, fetch water among other domestic responsibility. Any physical, sexual or psychological assault perpetrated against school girls is likely to exasperate their already low profile of educational participation thereby making them less and less visible in the school. Violence directly negatively affects girls' school attendance, their concentration, classroom activity and completion of homework, all of which are closely linked to their educational participation. Across the world, 69 million children do not go to primary school. 54% are girls. Once in school, girls are faced with numerous challenges and are more likely than boys to stop attending before they complete primary education. Girls also have significantly less chance of progressing to secondary school in many parts of the world including Ghana. Of the 759 million adults lacking literacy skills, two-thirds are women - a share that has actually increased slightly over the last decade. Poor and marginalised women and girls are disproportionately affected, with factors such as; ethnicity, disability and location dramatically worsening a girl's chance of entering and completing school. These facts highlight a scandalous denial of human rights. ActionAid-Ghana in collaboration with Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition-GNECC & Songtaba under the Stop Violence Against Girls in Schools (SVAGS) project funded by Big Lottery Fund,UK is among the efforts aimed at bridging the gender disparities among the key policy drivers for the national education strategic framework. The SVAGS project sought to ensure that Girls as well as boys have a violence free school environment to be able to thrive and complete their learning without fear of any form of violence. Surprisingly in Ghana, physical violence and abuse in a form of Corporal punishment, sexual violence, among other forms exist. The participation rate is lower for girls compared to that of boys in all regions except in the Eastern Region where the participation rate was in favour of girls (MoE, 2010/11). In the Nanumba North and South saw a baseline of 2,346 at the end of year four saw a twenty percent increase to this figure. What is the rippling effect should every district in Ghana undertake same activities as Nanumba North and South district? The Stop Violence Against Girls in Schools project has found out that school girls in all areas of Ghana are subjected to various forms of abuse and violence; in their homes, on their way to and from school as well as in the schools. The types of violence and abuse vary in prevalence across the country and there are urban and rural variations as well. Although is not possible to clearly establish who exactly is the perpetrator of which type of violence, the project has over the years at least identified who the perpetrators in the three different settings are. This has made girls seem to be caught in a vicious cycle in which their struggle to get an education instead of being married in an early age expose them to violence and abuse, which then leads to low level of academic performance, class repetition and eventually dropping out of the school. In recent years the government of Ghana, donors and civil societies have together raised the general awareness of the importance of girls' education and have successfully managed to increase the gross enrolment rate of girls but what is next? The key to this solution, therefore, lies in breaking the cycle. One can conclude that the education system is "key" in breaking this cycle. As much as the school is part of the problem, it is also part of the solution. The fact that some of the main perpetrators are older school boys and also female students underline that the school itself can and should play a major role in eliminating the violence. On the way to and from school also out of school boys are among the main perpetrators. Thus the school and the community should work together in reaching those groups. |
Health care
article oneLife expectancy in Ghana is low, at just over 56 years, and the infant mortality rate is high, at just over 52 deaths per 1,000 live births. Ghana has a major problem with AIDS: In 2003, about 3.1 percent of the adult population, or 350,000 people, were living with AIDS, and some 30,000 people died of the disease. Ghana has a relatively modern medical system funded by the government, church groups, and various international agencies, but the system reaches only those who live in the cities and larger towns. Dispensaries in smaller towns have had some success in dealing with common diseases such as malaria. Many Ghanaians rely on traditional medicine, which emphasizes supernatural causes of disease or herbal medicine, and efforts have been made in recent years to find links between indigenous herbs and Western scientific medicine.
Health
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article twoIn the Ghana, located in West Africa, was the first of the colonized countries in Africa to declare its independence. Accra is Ghana’s capital city, and serves as the geographic and economic gateway to this region. The city’s diverse economy is home to both local and regional traders as well as many international companies.
Since its independence, Accra’s population has increased rapidly. In 1957, the city had a population of approximately 190,000 (Grant & Yankson, 2003); today, the city’s population is estimated to be over three million (Millennium Cities Initiative website). Accra experienced a period of rapid spatial expansion in the 1980s, and has been urbanizing rapidly ever since. Much of the city’s growth has not been planned, and as a result, Accra’s spatial expansion in recent years has occurred in some of the poorest areas of the city. This unfettered and unplanned growth has had severe implications for the population of Accra, and is most pronounced in the lack of basic urban infrastructure, including water and sanitation, transportation, education and health care in many parts of the city. In January 2010, Accra partnered with the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI) to become a “Millennium City.” MCI works with underserved urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa to help them eradicate extreme poverty and to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (MCI website). To fully realize a city’s social and economic potential, needs assessments are conducted in many areas, including education, gender, water and sanitation, health and opportunities for economic development and foreign direct investment. All of the components of the above-mentioned needs assessments combine to provide a holistic understanding of the challenges a Millennium City faces and the investment opportunities that are required in order to achieve the MDGs. This paper explores the health care system infrastructure in Accra by examining public health needs and addressing the challenges and goals identified by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Metro Health Services and Public Health Directorates. This paper also proposes recommendations for future research. The link to the whole paper can be found in the sources. |
Ghana health and education initiative
Mission:
At GHEI we envision a future where children--free from illness and illiteracy—can realize their full potential, a future where healthy, educated young people will lead their communities out of poverty. Our health and education programs work hand-in-hand to achieve this vision. Whether preventing childhood illness or promoting learning success, we are committed to finding the most innovative solutions to the health and education needs of our communities, even if it requires challenging established limits.
Our success is firmly rooted in the idea that local capacity leads to sustainability. Therefore, we recruit, train, and employ people directly from the communities where we work. GHEI invests in our local team for the same reason we invest in the children and young people we serve: by investing in an individual, we empower their community.
At GHEI we envision a future where children--free from illness and illiteracy—can realize their full potential, a future where healthy, educated young people will lead their communities out of poverty. Our health and education programs work hand-in-hand to achieve this vision. Whether preventing childhood illness or promoting learning success, we are committed to finding the most innovative solutions to the health and education needs of our communities, even if it requires challenging established limits.
Our success is firmly rooted in the idea that local capacity leads to sustainability. Therefore, we recruit, train, and employ people directly from the communities where we work. GHEI invests in our local team for the same reason we invest in the children and young people we serve: by investing in an individual, we empower their community.
Ghanaian's facing problems of education and health
CONNECTIONS TO CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHINGS
Catholic Social Teachings say that there should be options for the poor and vulnerable. In Ghana, many people are left without an option when it comes to education and health. Even if they can get involved in a health or education program, many of the ones available in Ghana are unsatisfactory. This is not in alignment with Catholic Social Teachings. More resources and man power needs to be funneled into third world countries such as Ghana so that they have the same options everyone else does and so they are equal in the eyes of society.
Sources
Kurian, George Thomas, ed. "Ghana: Education." World Geography and Culture Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 7
Dec. 2014. <http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE39&Details.aspx&iPin=
EWNC2560&SingleRecord=True>.
"Violence and Abuse On Girls Education in Ghana [column]." Africa News Service 13 Dec. 2012. Global Issues In Context. Web.
7 Dec. 2014. <http://find.galegroup.com/gic/infomark.do?&source=gale&idigest=aa3856714dff19d6ef74b499ce80b25a&prodId=
GIC&userGroupName=whea89578&tabID=T006&docId=A311970763&type=retrieve&contentSet=IAC-Documents&version=1.0>.
Kurian, George Thomas, ed. "Ghana: Health." World Geography and Culture Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 7 Dec.
2014. <http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE39&Details.aspx&iPin=
EWNC2556&SingleRecord=True>.
Pehr, Jennifer L. "Health Care and Infrastructure in Accra, Ghana." Columbia.
N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
<http://mci.ei.columbia.edu/files/2013/03/Health-Care-and-Infrastructure-in-Accra-Ghana.pdf>.
"About Us." Ghana Health and Education Initiative. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec.
2014. <http://ghei.org/about>.
"GHEI - Humjibre." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKIBCj79stA>.
Dec. 2014. <http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE39&Details.aspx&iPin=
EWNC2560&SingleRecord=True>.
"Violence and Abuse On Girls Education in Ghana [column]." Africa News Service 13 Dec. 2012. Global Issues In Context. Web.
7 Dec. 2014. <http://find.galegroup.com/gic/infomark.do?&source=gale&idigest=aa3856714dff19d6ef74b499ce80b25a&prodId=
GIC&userGroupName=whea89578&tabID=T006&docId=A311970763&type=retrieve&contentSet=IAC-Documents&version=1.0>.
Kurian, George Thomas, ed. "Ghana: Health." World Geography and Culture Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 7 Dec.
2014. <http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE39&Details.aspx&iPin=
EWNC2556&SingleRecord=True>.
Pehr, Jennifer L. "Health Care and Infrastructure in Accra, Ghana." Columbia.
N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
<http://mci.ei.columbia.edu/files/2013/03/Health-Care-and-Infrastructure-in-Accra-Ghana.pdf>.
"About Us." Ghana Health and Education Initiative. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec.
2014. <http://ghei.org/about>.
"GHEI - Humjibre." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKIBCj79stA>.