According to a graphiconline report, the Upper West Regional branch of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) is worried about the effect of illegal mining on education in the country and has called for a holistic approach to tackle the menace.
The association says one of the challenges facing education in the region is school dropouts, as a result of illegal mining activities. It said the illegal mining is luring students, particularly those in Junior High, to abandon school and travel south to engage in it.
The regional chairman of the association, Ivon Kuule, who disclosed this during the quadrennial Delegates Conference of GNAT in Wa, said the challenge needed urgent attention to “ensure that we provide the best quality of education to all children of school going age in the region.”
He said even though members of the association were doing their best to provide the students in the region with the best of tuition, some of the challenges needed urgent attention. He cited high teacher attrition rate, lack of accommodation and basic social amenities, especially in the hard-to-reach communities, inadequate school infrastructure and inadequate resources for the implementation of the new curriculum, for both the Junior and Senior High schools.
The disturbing revelations from the Upper West Regional branch of GNAT should jolt the conscience of every policymaker, community leader and parent. The lure of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, is no longer a distant threat confined to certain regions. It has become a destructive force reaching into classrooms in the north, robbing children of their right to education and a chance at a dignified future.
That students, particularly in Junior High schools, are abandoning their books to travel south for illegal mining is a tragedy with far-reaching consequences. This is not merely a story of children seeking quick income, it is a dangerous trade-off swapping the promise of education for the perils of an unregulated, exploitative and environmentally destructive industry.
The GNAT regional chairman, Ivon Kuule, was right to call for urgent, holistic action. Teachers may be giving their all in the classroom, but their efforts are undermined by high teacher attrition, lack of teacher accommodation, poor basic amenities in remote areas, inadequate school infrastructure and insufficient resources to implement the new curriculum effectively. When schools lack basic learning tools and communities are deprived of socio-economic opportunities, it becomes easier for children to be enticed by illegal mining’s false promises.
The problem is twofold. First, there is the direct draw of galamsey fast cash, peer influence and adventure. Second, there is the push factor of educational neglect, under-resourced schools, overworked teachers and a lack of visible pathways from classroom learning to meaningful employment. In such an environment, children begin to question the value of staying in school at all.
This crisis is not just about the north, it is a national issue. The loss of even one child to illegal mining represents the erosion of national human capital. If we fail to act decisively now, we will not only lose a generation of potential engineers, doctors, teachers, and leaders, but we will also perpetuate cycles of poverty, environmental degradation, and underdevelopment.
Education is the single most powerful weapon we have to break the chains of poverty and exploitation. It is time we wield it with determination, ensuring that no child in Ghana has to choose between a dangerous pit and a promising future.
