Following the discovery of the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, schools around the world have been thrown into a state of confusion over how to both educate and protect their students. The educational adjustments made, in response to the viral pandemic, have only added to the issues plaguing certain populations of students. In Ghana, despite the uncertainties posed by Covid-19, non-profit organizations like World Inspiring Network continue to work in an effort to raise funds for the country’s avid yet disadvantaged students.
Due to school closures, some teachers employed within Ghana’s private sector no longer receive an income. The reason? Prince Ayerakwa, Modern Ghana journalist, reports that “[t]hey are not being paid because the source of income (i.e. school fees) from which school proprietors would pay these teachers have been cut.” Even before Covid-19 hit the world’s schools and educational systems, some Ghanaian families struggled to raise the money needed for these critical school fees due to ongoing wealth disparities.
While Ghanaian students living in wealthy cities have been able to adjust to virtual learning more readily, some of their rural counterparts have been left in the dark both in the figurative and literal sense. “Due to lack of electricity and good network, a lot more students from the remote than those in the cities have not benefited at all.”
If nothing else, the unexpected nature of the coronavirus outbreak has shed light on the inequitable access to educational resources. It is this inequity that the World Inspiring Network’s leaders and volunteers aim to eradicate.
In the future, it is possible that institutions such as Ghana’s Ministry of Education will push for the continued implementation of virtual learning along with standard in classroom teaching. This possibility begs the question. How will Ghana’s rural, deserving students be able to compete in increasingly technology driven schools without access to needed educational resources?
As aforementioned, World Inspiring Network has compiled a team of volunteers to address the issue of economic inequality as it pertains to students’ access to education or a lack thereof. The non-profit has successfully provided imperative resources such as clothing, books, pencils, and even clean water to Ghanaian students living in rural areas. It is possible that these are the areas most likely to feel the lasting effects of Covid-19’s disruption to the standard flow of education. WIN prides itself in having core values, such as transparency, which guide its work.
“We are transparent in all that we do, communicating openly and honestly with those we work with.”
Even before the coronavirus hit the West African country, certain populations of its students faced a plethora of issues that hurt their education. In addition to the aforementioned hardships surrounding school fees, UNICEF reports that many teenage girls struggle to obtain a secondary education due to a multitude of factors, namely poverty and the persistence of gender inequality.
Clearly, the work that needs to be done to improve Ghana’s education sector is not miniscule but it is wholly feasible. The continued efforts of WIN and other organizations suggest that the future of all of Ghana’s students will, one day, be a brighter one.
Bibliography
Ayerakwa, Prince. Impact Of COVID-19 On Education: Ghana In Perspective. 14 Nov. 2020,
www.modernghana.com/news/1042837/impact-of-covid-19-on-education-ghana-in-perspect.htm
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“Education.” UNICEF , www.unicef.org/ghana/education.
