Poverty in Education; Wealthy in Funerals: The Social Impairment in the Oti Region

Bakatiche and his friend looking deep into the future

Oti Region is one of the newly created regions of Ghana in December 2018. The region was curved out from the Volta Region. The major ethnic groups are the Guan-speaking tribes and they include Krachi, Nchumuru/Chonke, Buem,Nkonya, Asante, Akyode, Adele, Ntrobo, among others. The region equally has migrant settler tribes such as Dagombas, Konkombas, Kotokolis, Hausa and Ewes. It is believed that over 30 languages are spoken in this region among an estimated eight hundred thousand people (2021 Population Census). The region is composed of six districts- Krachi East, Krachi West, Krachi Nchumuru, Biakoye, Nkwanta North and Nkwanta South. The regional capital is Dambai whilst the rest of the regional departments and agencies spread across the districts.

The major economic activities include farming which forms 60% of the total work force and others including fishing, poultry and trading. Admittedly, the people in this region are hard working as seen in the daily routine movement of farmers in the morning and fishermen almost all the time. In the context of development work, community engagements cannot be done in the morning in about 99% of the communities in the Oti region even if ‘the announcement is made on national television”. Implicitly, the people are always engaged in the morning in their livelihood activities of farming, trading and fishing. Despite these daily struggles by inhabitants; poverty continues to be high across the districts in the region. But wait a minute! Are the inhabitants really poor? What is the average funeral cost in the region? Granted the inhabitants are poor; what investments are they making in the education of their children so as to break the cycle of poverty through education.

"Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today". This quote summarizes the theme of this article in great detail. In the Oti region where I am part of a team implementing the Ghana Education Outcomes Project; permit me to share my reflections based on the over 300 communities that I have visited across the six districts in the Oti region. Ironically, many of the children in all formal schools that I have been visiting lack basic school items such as pen, pencil, books, uniform, and bags, among others. Teachers in the region grapple with the lack of these learning materials daily which hinders effective teaching and learning in the classroom. Unfortunately, some parents across the districts in the region do not prioritize investing in their children’s education. Whilst some parents are doing so well in providing basic school items to their children others prefer investing in funerals of dead relatives to show their ‘might' in wealth- wealthy in funerals; poverty in education. Lack of furniture in the region among schools is a pandemic with children even sitting and lying on the floor in some schools whilst others come with plastic chairs or stools without table for use, during lesson delivery. In all these communities, funerals cost for a dead relative could buy 50 dual desks for schools; but no way. Their pride and joy is not in education but funerals!

A class in session in one of the schools in Oti Region

The social impairment of believing in costly funerals seems to be highly important to many families than educating their children to help break the multidimensional poverty situation in the region. I have observed with shock, difficulties associated with Parents Associations of schools at the basic level in organizing even meetings talk less play oversight responsibility in supporting the administration of schools. In sharp contrast; families and communities can spend a fortune in organizing funerals for dead relatives whilst children in the same families’ have no basic school items for effective learning at school. What’s more? I have seen a whole community travel out with children to another community for funeral causing formal schools in both communities to a temporal closure.

Clearly the dignity of the dead is very much important to every family including the writer; but must the social impairment of costly funerals be allowed to incapacitate the future of our young ones? Certainly no! Religious bodies and development organizations must rise up to re-orientate the minds of the inhabitants to focus more on the future of their children rather than the dead. Well, life has always been a choice; to invest in the education of children or to save fortunes for costly funerals of dead relatives who might equally not be in support of it in whilst resting in peace.

I have always maintained that; education is the most powerful tool in fighting poverty and building of resilient households in rural communities. The inhabitants of the region will continue to reap the seeds of their choices many more years to come; to secure their tomorrow through investments in education or otherwise. Whichever way it goes, death and education are inevitable!