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More children
dropping out of school to work
Audrey Micah, Ghanadot
Accra, June 2, Ghanadot - Though the
government and some private entities are helping in curbing the
issue of school dropout in Ghana, the situation is getting quiet
serious as the streets of Accra are
still recruiting more ice water
sellers.
About 70% of the iced water vendors are school dropouts who are
on the street selling as a result of poverty, parental neglect,
and being orphans.
Some
are also students who sell only on vacations, weekends and
holidays. They are mostly girls and a few boys who are between
the ages 10 and 15 years.
Efia is 15 years old and a student. She
lives with her parents at Kasoa and comes to sell in Odawna
market every vacation, alongside her father
who sells
cassettes and her mum who sells ladies
underwear.
Akose sets off early in the morning from Mataheko with her mum
to Odawna. She then walks
to Newtown where to buy
her supply bagged water already in a fridge
to sell. She goes back and forth for
fresh supplies during the day. By 5:00 PM she ready to
leave for hom with her mother.
In spite of the fact that basic
education is free; these school dropots,
mostly young, have ready credit to start their day much older
partenrs. The pick up their supply, after
credit and guarantor
are established at the market.
A 12 years old Mansa who is a school dropout told GhanaDot that
she did not have the capital to start the iced water business so
a friend introduced her to a woman who gives the water out on
credit, “so I went to her and she gave me GH2 worth of iced
water and after selling it I paid later.”
With the introduction of the School Feeding Programme, many
thought the problem of school dropout would be the thing of the
past, but as it stands matters are getting worse and every day,
more children come out of school to work.
Some Ghanaians are questioning whether the
leaders in this country truly believe that children are
vulnerable and marginalized group in the
country because there is the need for targeted
interventions which will take these children off the streets.
The minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Akua Sena Dansua
thinks the the leadershi, at least hers, is
already working on the matter. She has assured the
general public that her ministry is prepared to create
harmonious society with equity and equality between male and
female sexes in which the survival, protection and development
of the child are guaranteed.
She said issues pertaining to children will be reviewed to
assess the extent of its implementation and effectiveness to
chart a future cause for the country’s children.
Ghanadot
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