Costos

0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 Bolg atan ga _Wa Tam ale Ho Cape Coa st Accr a Kum asi Sham a Ah anta Eas t Suny ani New Juab en Tem a DISTRICTS P O V E R T Y IN D E X M & F M F

Source: MoE 2007 Education Sector Review Report

The characteristics of the urban poor in public basic schools that informed the studies were pupils who had problems with payment of levies/fees13; pupils with problem of acquisition of exercise books; pupils without uniforms; mal-nourished children in schools; pupils without sandals; pupils without school bag to carry their books; children in schools used as child labour; pupils with poor attendance records; truancy; potential drop-outs and drop-outs. Poor pupils in the schools were noted to have exhibited either one, two or more of these characteristics. Other features noted were teenage pregnancy, children from broken homes, irresponsible parenting, and a lack of regular hygiene checks in schools (e.g. deworming, eye screening and prevention of malaria).

The Ghana child labour survey, conducted by the Ghana statistical service (GSS) found that many Ghanaian children between the ages of 5 and 17 years were engaged in economic activities (GSS 2003). Considering the location factor, it may be inferred that a higher proportion of children in rural areas were more likely to be engaged in economic activities than the case with children in urban areas. In Central Region, more than half the children who had a job worked for more than six months a year; such children combined schooling with

engagement in their usual economic activities which often results in clashes with school periods.

In terms of the nature of work children do, the GSS survey (ibid) found that some children engaged in agriculture, forestry or fishing; while others worked as hawkers or street vendors, selling iced water, food and other items. In some cases, children engaged in general labouring, such as washing cars; fetching firewood and water; pushing trucks when traction was problematic (males); or working as porters (mainly females). Apart from carrying out economic activities, most children were also found to do housework on a regular basis. The older the child, the more time he or she spent engaged in household chores (ibid) (specific jobs and the amount of time spent doing them are discussed in the next section).

With regard to age and amount of time spent working, the 2006 Ghana Multi Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) conducted by UNICEF classified a younger child as being between the ages of 5 and 11. A child of this age who spends at least one hour per week carrying out an economic activity is regarded as engaging in child labour. A child is classified as an older child if he or she is aged between 12 and 14 years. Older children who spend at least 14 hours per week carrying out an economic activity are also regarded as engaging in child labour (UNICEF et al., 2006).

I found the Ghana MICS age and work classification useful in the present study because it clarifies the dynamics surrounding the amount of work on a regular basis that is likely to disrupt a child’s education (chapter 7 discusses the relationship between child labour, irregular school attendance and dropout). However, it should be noted that I extend the upper age limit used in MICS data from 14 to 17 years due to the fact that the majority of school children in the study area were two or more years over age in grade (see figures 5:7 and 5:8). The age range adopted for determining the parameters of childhood is consistent with the UN’s definition (see 3.2).

2.5 Conclusion

The chapter presented country contextual details, including physical and demographic characteristics; the structure of the basic education and reform; improvements in enrolment and attendance over the years. The chapter suggests that increases in enrolment and attendance attributed over the years to improvements in living conditions notwithstanding, repetition and dropout in particular still remain a problem in terms of achieving a 100% universal completion rate. The chapter shows that although the data on dropout has not been consistently collected and reported, it remains a major challenge. One particular issues about dropout that is important for the study is how it occurs – the processes leading to it. One of the assumptions of this thesis is that, unless we understand the dropout process, we cannot effectively address it.

The next chapter presents a review of literature related to the study. It focuses on issues related to the international agenda on the rights of the child, EFA Goal 2, which is the MDG goal that addresses provision of education as a right. The review also highlights literature on definitions of dropout and makes a case for the need for a contextual definition. Other discussion in the literature review presents what research show as the causes of dropout. Finally, the chapter concludes with a conceptual framework developed from the synthesis of literature review to illustrate the causes of dropout.

CHAPTER 3