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The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice celebrates the 2024 Day of the African Child (DAC) by urging the government of Ghana to increase budgetary allocations to fund necessary reforms aimed at improving access to quality education for all children in Ghana.
This year's DAC is themed "Education for all Children in Africa: The Time is Now." This theme stems from an assessment of the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4 and the African Union Continental Education Strategy for Africa. It reveals that despite some achievements, African states still struggle with a rising number of out-of-school children, inadequate education quality, and high teacher-to-student ratios.
In Ghana, the 2021 Population and Housing Census reported a concerning statistic: 1,215,546 children aged 4-17 are not enrolled in school. Among them, nearly one million have never received any formal education due to limited access. Additionally, according to the 2023 Commonwealth Global Youth Development Index Report, Ghana's education system ranked a disappointing 125th out of 183 countries.
The commission commends the government and the Ministry of Education for implementing various policies and initiatives aimed at ensuring the right to education in Ghana, such as the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (fCUBE) policy, the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy, and the School Feeding Programme.
However, many gaps exist including about 5,400 schools under trees due to lack of infrastructure, inadequate furniture, lack of proper sanitation facilities, curriculum, and textbooks, as well as underqualified and poor conditions of service for teachers.
To this effect, the Commission encourages the government and the Ministry of Education to pay equal attention to the right to basic education by removing the various cost implications for parents, especially in poor rural areas.
Also, the commission urges the government to improve school infrastructure, conditions of service for teachers, resources including textbooks, comprehensive and continuous professional training for teachers, and innovative and well-targeted sensitization programmes to challenge societal norms such as child marriages and Child Labour that hinder children's right to education.
The DAC came into effect in 1991 through the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the then Organization of African Unity (OAU). This was in memory of students massacred and injured during the 16th of June 1976 student uprising in Soweto, South Africa who were marching in demand for quality education and the need to be taught in their languages.
The commission remains committed to increasing advocacy and enforcement mechanisms to protect the right to education at all levels for all children in Ghana.
