Plan Ghana champions children’s right to education

Daily Graphic (Pg 21) Thurs., July 22/10

Article: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
Education is a basic human right recognised since the 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Since then, numerous human rights treaties have reaffirmed this right and have supported entitlement to free, compulsory primary education for all children.
In 1990, the Education for All (EFA) commitment was launched to ensure that by 2015, all children, particularly girls, those in difficult circumstances and the vulnerable, have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality.
There is, however, much work to do before this is achieved. UNESCO estimates that 75 million children are not in school and in 2005-2006, as many as 90 million children were without access to education. Beyond the basic need for education to support one’s self and family in later years, many social ills occur in the vacuum of free and accessible education. Moreover, the education gap runs much deeper than a rural-urban divide. Even in urban areas, poor and marginalised children are unable to benefit from greater access to school facilities because of cost, distance and culture.
A 2007 UNESCO and UNICEF report addressed the issue of education from a rights-based approach. Three inter-related rights were specified which needed to be addressed by all countries: The right of access to education with emphasis that education must be available for, accessible to and inclusive of all children; the right to quality education emphasising that education needed to be child-centred, relevant and embrace a broad curriculum, and be appropriately resourced and monitored; and finally the right to respect within the learning environment which also states that education must be provided in a way that is consistent with human rights, equal respect for culture, religion and language and free from all forms of violence.
Also goals two and three of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) focus on universal primary education and aim to reduce the gender gap in education.
While a notable progress has been made in the category of enrolment in Ghana, much progress was still needed, especially, in addressing gender parity especially at the higher levels and quality of education that addresses socio-economic needs.
This is why Plan Ghana, a child's right organisation working in six areas in the country, namely Asesewa, Bawjiase, Mankessim, Tumu, Wa and the Volta Region, works to ensure that all children, especially those from rural and impoverished parts of the country, access their rights and have a say in their own development.
Plan Ghana works to improve access to quality education by supporting the recruitment and training of teachers, providing textbooks, school supplies and equipment, and running school health education programmes in 52 schools. It is also piloting a feeding programme in one community, benefiting 350 children.
Plan Ghana started its operations in the country in 1992 and its core areas of activity include the provision of quality education and teacher training, better health, food security and creating awareness of child rights, all of which are rooted in the rights of the child.
In the area of quality education, the programme focuses on encouraging community participation in children's learning and provides child-friendly environments and infrastructure for effective teaching and learning, as well as scholarships to needy children, enabling them to fulfil their full academic potential when money is a barrier.
Among Plan's notable achievements over the years is the increase in school enrolment figures from 60 per cent to 95 per cent through a partnership with 300 communities to improve 180 school facilities in rural areas where it operates. In remote communities, conditions have been improved with increased access to usable water from 27 per cent in 2003 to 73 per cent in 2008 and 3,500 students have also benefited from Plan's scholarship scheme for secondary, vocational and tertiary education. It has also facilitated the training of more than 1,000 teachers in rural areas and also spear-headed a birth registration campaign with registration jumping from 17 per cent in 2003 to 62 per cent in 2008 in its project areas.
Plan Ghana has also pioneered the participation of children in international programmes including the Commonwealth games in Australia in 2005 and the UN Session on Children in 2006. It also devised the sponsorship of six child ambassadors to the US and two other children who played key roles at the UN General Assembly to discuss child participation in New York. The two were part of Plan-West Africa's 'Violence Against Children' project, and have received advocacy training, helping them to help other children participate.
Also Plan Ghana is running a football project in the Eastern Region which aims to get more girls in school, because in Ghana, girls often drop out, increasingly due to teenage pregnancy. Within the last three years that the project has been operational, over 1,200 girls from rural communities have joined the project, increasing school enrolment, with the condition being that they must be in school before they can participate.
Vida, a pupil who dropped out of school and had two children, in an interview said: “I was encouraged by three members of the girls' football team to go back to school. Today, I am in school and a member of the team. With the support of my team mates, my family, the community and Plan Ghana, I hope to attain my highest potential.”
Through the football project, the area has since seen a 15 per cent increase in girls’ enrolment in school and a decrease in absenteeism and dropout rates. The project also aims at highlighting barriers to education for girls in rural communities and help reduce teenage pregnancy rates in the Eastern Region.
One of Plan Ghana’s notable achievements in its project areas last year was when the President of Ghana, Prof. John Evans Atta-Mills, praised Plan Ghana's management and staff for their good work during a visit to its offices in Tumu in the Sisala District of the Upper West Region.
He said: “I am very happy for the good work Plan Ghana is doing in this area to uplift the living standards of children and their families. I commend you highly for that. I hope you will keep it up and possibly expand your programme to cover more districts in the region. Keep the good work up Plan Ghana.”
Through its work, the Tumu area has seen an increase in school enrolment and library books have also been provided to primary schools to encourage good reading habits among children. This has lead to an improvement in their ability to read and write. The project has also supported the training of 19 pre-school teachers in the latest teaching methodologies. This has made teaching and learning more efficient and effective.
Also in the Wa West, Wa East and Wa Municipalities where Plan Ghana works in 50 communities and sponsors about 5,000 children, the School Health Programme has helped to train teachers in safe hygiene and provided hand-washing facilities to schools, improving sanitation for both teachers and pupils.
In addition, a Plan study carried out in the Sissala District of the Upper West Region found that food insecurity was a severe and chronic problem. Though it was widespread among the district's population, pre-school children, school-going children and young mothers were the worst affected and most vulnerable.
Through the survey, Plan Ghana piloted a project in Kupulima in Wa East in the Upper West Region which is managed by the community to feed children in schools, helping increase school enrolment, attendance and performance. It organised community awareness-raising meetings and trained parents to stress the importance of balanced nutrition and school attendance.
What's more, Plan Ghana has trained 63,561 teachers and built and rehabilitated 8,152 child-friendly schools so that they can deliver quality education, since learning is crucial for development and one of the most powerful tools in breaking the cycle of poverty.
The organisation invests more in education than any other programme area and works to ensure that children, young people and adults get the knowledge and life skills they need to realise their full potential.
As part of its school-improvement programme, which is a major part of its formal education work, Plan Ghana delivers support to every aspect of a school, which is essential in creating the best learning environment for children, ensures the active participation of children and communities in school governance, and holds individual school management accountable for children’s enrolment, attendance, learning and successful completion.
The organisation also reaches out to children who have never been to school or who have dropped out, offering them the chance of a quality education, and works to break down barriers that prevent many girls from being educated with projects to help thousands of them into school.