Today’s children are inherently the future generation. As such, children, under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, are entitled to enabling environment and education, with the aim of preparing them towards a better and brighter future.
Enabling environment and education in Ghana is mostly enjoyed by the upper and middle class and to a degree by the near-poor and has not had a trickle-down effect on the poor, marginalised and vulnerable in its society.
According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) the compulsory education age range is 6-14 years. Statistics show that 9,450,398 of the Ghanaian population are 0-14 years (PHC, 2010) with 7,163,003 are enrolled in either pre-school that is nursery and kindergarten, 1, 604, 505, primary level, 4,105,913 and junior high school level,1,402,585 with mean of 51.1% being male and 48.9% being female (MoE, Education Sector Programme Report, 2013). Impressive pertaining to gender parity, however, the focus is on the difference of the 2,287,395 who per the statistics are not enrolled in for formal education. The question is, if they are not in where are they? And how sure is it that those enrolled are achieving the objectives of formal education, but that is a discussion for another day.
Away from the statistics, the situation on the ground is pathetic as it reveals how these children are left to their on the streets and communities of urban and rural settings across the country engaged in all manner of menial commercial activities, some used as begging tool and aides by their relatives or guardians to make ends meet.
Interview with some children shows that, they are not in school at all due to either negligence or inability of their parent(s) to take them to school. This is not only disheartening but appalling are these innocent children are exposed to health issues due to their exposure to work that may harm them and unfavorable weather conditions of the, which in a long-term reduces their life expectancy denying the country the abled human resources it has. There is a haste to add that, these children are not only denied their rights in the short-term but are denied the better and brighter future due them and the country in a long-term.
The foregoing issues should be curtailed to prevent these innocent children turning or growing into socio-economic liabilities such as unemployed, armed robbers, prostitutes, junkies, fraudsters and all sort of anti-social characters.
This write-up is not to sympathise with parent(s) and the state, but express dissatisfaction in their efforts to give these children the enabling environment and education they do not only deserve but entitled. Though social protection policies such as the free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (fCUBE), Capitation Grant, Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), free distribution of school uniforms, books and sandals has been implemented to subsist parent citizens especially the near-poor and the poor to let their children have the education they are entitled. Yet, we have a situation of “unschooling” children in the Ghanaian society.
Ghana, as a welfare state has not only failed in making and enforcing laws to protect and fulfill children’s right to enabling environment and education as provided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child but also in the effective implementation and sustainability of social protection policies.
When involved in something, you cannot do eternally, stop doing it. Therefore, parents and the state cannot keep going in this irresponsible direction forever and should make conscious and frantic efforts to find lasting solutions these children’s plight. Nelson Mandela once said that, “no country can be developed unless its citizens are educated”, therefore, all stakeholders should be on board to interdependently to eradicate canker of denial of children their right to enabling environment and education to ensure a better present and future, for sustainable development.
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