A calling from young people in Ghana: These are the areas we need to invest in
Much of the world has shut down as the coronavirus pandemic rages, but the lockdown also opens up new opportunities. Here, five young Ghanaians share their ideas on how to achieve sustainable development when Ghana opens up again.
Joseph, Chleo-Patra, Caroline, Regina and Yolanda with Anne-Claire Dufay from the UN at the essay competition award ceremony.
There's still no telling what Africa will look like post-corona. African intellectuals call for a call to reinvent Africa in the shadow of corona. Such reinvention creates space to develop new and creative solutions to local and global challenges.
Guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, five young Ghanaians set out to give their perspective on how more young people can get a quality education in Ghana and contribute to the country's development.
Lack of education and unemployment among young people
In Ghana, young people make up 33 per cent of the population. Despite this, they are rarely included in political agendas. Young people face a weak education system and high unemployment. A majority of young people move from rural areas to the major cities where they live and work on the streets with the hope of earning enough money to create a better future for themselves.
With corona and the impact of the virus on the African continent, the time has come to reinvent the course for Ghana's youth. Quality education will be paramount here, if you ask the young people themselves.
The lack of education makes it difficult for young people to fight for their rights and get out of poverty. Education empowers young people to take control of their own lives.
The lack of education makes it difficult for young people to fight for their rights and get out of poverty. Education empowers young people to take control of their own lives. Higher levels of education are also directly linked to better health.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals have uniquely created a space for young people to get involved in the development agenda. It is precisely this agenda that 5 young people want to help influence with their six suggestions for development areas.
Ensure quality education for all
In the fight against poverty and the next health crisis, a high level of education will be crucial to Africa's future. Five young Ghanaians come up with six areas they believe need to be strengthened to ensure more children and young people get an education.
1) Parental and community support
First and foremost, the understanding and acceptance of children going to school needs to be spread between parents and in local communities. Many parents in Ghana still believe that school is a waste of time and that girl children in particular are deprived of an education. Joseph, Chleo-Patra, Caroline, Regina and Yolanda all agree that one of the most important things to achieve Goal 4 by 2030 is to get parents to prioritise their children's schooling.
2) Infrastructure and materials
School infrastructure and access to textbooks, computers, blackboards and more need to be improved. Not only that, young people also emphasise that schools must be easily accessible for everyone. This means that they must be child, gender and disability friendly.
3) Qualified teachers
According to the five young people, it must be ensured that qualified teachers are in charge of education. Students in Ghana sometimes feel that their teachers are not able to provide quality education. They are either poorly trained themselves or lack the right materials to support the learning processes in practice.
4) Food for all school children
In 2005, a pilot project started in Ghana to reduce hunger and malnutrition through the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP). The feeding programme needs to be strengthened if it is to live up to its mission of reducing hunger and malnutrition and increasing children's participation in school.
5) Education for all
Some children are academically strong, while other children are better at practical tasks. They should all have access to an education that suits them and the hopes and dreams they have for the future. One area that needs to be strengthened is the presence of both mainstream and vocational and technical schools in both urban and rural areas throughout Ghana.
6) Together for solutions
The five solutions mentioned all have in common that they require co-operation between multiple actors. And collaboration is the sixth focus area for development. The young people write that a boost in the above-mentioned areas requires a broad collaboration between government, private companies and NGOs in Ghanaian society in order to succeed.
The five young Ghanaians have all participated in a project where young people are trained to become ambassadors for the SDGs. You can read more about the ambassadors and the project on our page Ambassadors for the SDGs.
