Schools in Ghana

 

Curriculum Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 3 Theme 4 Theme 5 Feature Stories Schools A Far Away Country Ghana at a Glance Diversity in Ghana

Welcome to the first Making Connections Through Gardening Ambassador Club report from Ghana. Our reporter in the field - in the city, really - is Payson Bullard from TechnoServe, National Gardening Association's partner in this project. Payson has been traveling to schools in Ghana and talking with students, teachers, and parents about their culture, language, agricultural practices, and gardening traditions. The schools in Ghana have some things in common with the schools in America. Here's what Payson learned:

The schools in Ghana operate on a F - C U B E system.

• Free (no cost)
• Cumpulsory (must do it)
• Universal (everywhere)
• Basic (the 3 R's)
• Education (knowledge)

The government of Ghana pays the teachers' salaries and supplies the building, but students must buy their own books and uniforms and pay for any extracurricular activities. Some students can't afford to buy these things so they do not go to school until the family has money for supplies. (This means that school is not necessarily compulsory for kids who can't pay for supplies.) Until the family can raise the money for school, the kids work on the family farm growing crops like cocoa, coconuts (copra), and sugar.

Students may start attending school at the age of four. The grades are set up much like schools in the U.S. Children 4 to 6 years old attend kindergarten; 6- to 12-year-old kids attend "Primary School" Class 1 (elementary and middle school); 12- to 15-year-old kids go to "Junior Secondary" school (junior high); and 15- to 18-year-old students are in "Senior Secondary" school (high school). Students must pass an entrance exam in order to attend "Senior Secondary" school. If they pass the exam, they may choose a high school anywhere in Ghana.

Some students decide to go to high school far away from their home town. Can you imagine going to high school in a different town or state? "Senior Secondary" Ghanaian students choose to go to other schools to learn a new language or live in the village of their ancestors.

In the first curriculum theme, "A Sense of Place," we learned that Ghana has many different languages and cultures. Students living in Accra may speak a different language than students living in Ashanti. English is the official language of Ghana, but most Ghanaians speak several languages. To learn more about the different languages in Africa, visit Africa Online.

Ghanaian students spend the first few days of school cleaning the classrooms and grounds. There are no janitors or maintenance people, so the students and teachers work to spruce up the entire school. The teachers feel that if the kids do the clean-up work, they will have more pride in their school. If a student starts school after the initial cleaning has been done, that student spends the first few days weeding or washing walls before starting lessons. Keeping their school looking good is important to both students and teachers.

Many of the schools in Ghana have their own gardens or small farms that the teachers and students work on during the school year. (Sometimes when the school is closed for a holiday, grazing cattle trample the gardens and then the students must replant.) The gardens are used to teach traditional gardening methods, crop planting, and harvesting.

In the coming months, we'll report on some "Primary" schools, visit rural "Junior Secondary" schools, and take a look at the role of women in Ghanaian society. Until then, keep learning and growing.

To learn more about Ghana, visit these Web sites:

Africa Online

Junior Ecological Club: Ghana

Visit Curriculum Activities to view and download activities for your classroom.