Lack of teachers and infrastructure make most rural students drop out before JHS — Kofi Asare

The unavailability of teachers and lack of basic infrastructure in rural Ghana are pushing many students to drop out of school before completing junior high school (JHS), according to the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch.

Speaking at the Media General National Policy Dialogue on Achieving Improved Basic Education Outcomes on Thursday, April 4, Kofi Asare shared alarming statistics on dropout rates.

While 92% of students nationwide transition from primary to JHS, that number falls to just 82% in deprived regions, representing an 18% dropout rate between primary six and JHS one.

Mr. Asare cited three main causes for this crisis: “Limited infrastructure and a lack of adequate primary schools are major factors in causing dropouts, and availability of teachers.”

According to Mr. Asare, there are certain schools in some parts of the country where a student has to send his or her own desk to school.

“There are schools in Kintampo North where one requires their own desks to be able to gain admission to a junior high school,” he stated.

Without intervention, many more young people may be denied the opportunity to continue their education, noted the education advocate.