Right to universal basic education in Ghana: the realities in rural communities

Abstract

Universal Basic education is a right for every child of school going age. This right is outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The laws of Ghana outlines this rights and stipulates that every child has the right to free compulsory basic primary education. Several efforts by the Government of Ghana have been made to make education accessible to children living in all every part of the country. Children should be seen enjoying their rights and privileges enshrined in the constitution and legal instruments that protect them. However it is not always so, many parts of Ghana especially the rural and deprived areas are denied equal right and equal access to quality basic primary education. Children living in such area are the most deprived and underprivileged in the prevailing education system.

The study aimed at identifying some problems that children living in the rural areas faced in accessing their right to basic education and interventions that could help solve or minimize those problems.

The study was conducted using qualitative research methods. The objectives of this study were to find out the major challenges confronting the provision of basic education to children living in a rural area, and gain knowledge of how well children and adults living in this rural area know about children‟s right to basic education. Through methods like focus group discussions, children‟s view were sought on the challenges they faced in school. Other methods such as participant observations and interviews were also employed in the study. Various problems were identified by my respondents and solutions given to help solve problems mentioned.

The study realized that the state as well as parents had a role to play in providing children especially those living in deprived areas, with the quality education they deserved. It was also realized that in studying children, they society from which they lived could not be ignored as society played an important role in their lives. Also children were to be studied as subject in their own rights and be seen as active participants in the society capable of effecting changes. Therefore children are to be included in studies that concern them; researchers are tasked to include methods that would involve children active participation.