Rural Private Schools Changing Education in Ghana

A new type of school is gaining ground in rural communities in Ghana: the low-cost private school. As an alternative to the government-run public education system, parents and supporters say that these new schools encourage enrollment and higher quality education, but are they really the best answer for the country?

Ghana’s new private schools are often run by ordinary members of the community. Paulina, a yam wholesaler in Accra, runs a school for 450 local students. Each student pays tuition of $5 per term.

Though private schools like Paulina’s charge fees, they are considered “low-cost” for the students. They are able to keep tuition down with support from organizations like the IDP Foundation. Their Rising Schools Program, which is partnered with the Sinapi Aba Trust, a Ghanaian microfinance organization, supports the schools with funds and teacher training programs.

Supporters of this type of school say that its rise is responsible for the increase in student enrollment across Ghana. Ghana’s progress toward universal primary education has certainly been helped by the government’s decision to do away with school fees, and to provide a stipend per student, per term. But an estimated 25% of Ghanaian students are enrolled in private schools, many of the low-cost, rural variety.

An increasing number of students are enrolling in these schools, but critics say that they may not be the best solution for improving education in Ghana. Keith Lewin, of the Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity (CREATE), says that the money families spend on private school fees could be better spent on health, food, water, and shelter, if they took advantage of the free government schools.

For the poorest Ghanaian families, he says, “enrolling a child in a low-fee private school would amount to about a third of their household income.”

But in CREATE’s survey of families who attend private school, they found that parents view the government schools as poorly managed. There is little teacher accountability, they explain, and the schools are “insensitive” to parents’ concerns.

Ghana’s government itself supports the shift to low-cost private schools. The Ministry of Education has praised the community participation in this “decentralization” of the education system.

For many people, these new schools are symbolic of parents and the public taking control of education in their community. The associated fees are worth it, they believe, if it ensures the best education possible for their children.

Creative Commons Love: Jonatan Freund on Flickr.com

Written by Carla Drumhiller Smith