EDUCATION, OUR RIGHT

 I side with those who are of the opinion that education should take a holistic shape, empowering the mind, the soul and heart. There are thousands of children in Ghana who dream of becoming a doctor, a police officer, a pilot, a bank manager and so on. But, when you look at the trend of our educational sector, you would no choice but to painfully come to the conclusion that quality education has become the preserve of the affluent.

When you take a stroll through the streets of Accra Central, the scenes of neglected children is simply overwhelming; you either see children walking bare-chested on this cold weather or some delightfully filling their famished stomach on undernourished food. To survive, fairly grown ones have to resort to stressing means to make a living. In the Accra metropolis, there are 120 kindergarten schools, 359 Primary schools, and 428 Junior High Schools. In 2001, the Ghana Statistical Service estimated that approximately 27.2 percent of children aged 5-14 years in Ghana work. Worldwide, 100-150 million children live independently on the streets.

Neglected children are left with potentials for two things; positive and negative. The positive aspect would be quite beneficial to us but the negative is what would some years to come threaten the peace and stability of society. Edward Evereth, expressing his opinion on education, said ‘education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army’. This is absolutely true. When children are denied of their right to education, either formal or informal, what options are we providing them?