Ghana seems to have neglected basic education infrastructure, as over 2 million basic school pupils study on bare floors.
As of 2021, 2,330,893 students, or 40% of basic school students, did not have access to seating and writing areas, according to the most recent data available through the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) Education Management Information System (EMIS). This included 50% of kindergarten students (596,949), 40% of primary school students (1,308,479), and 30% of junior high school students (425,465).
Over 2 million basic school pupils study on bare floors in Ghana -DATA
| Level | Percentage (without seating) | Number (without seating) |
|---|---|---|
| KG | 50 | 596949 |
| Primary | 40 | 1308479 |
| JHS | 30 | 425465 |
Students in upper primary continued the practice of lying on their stomachs to write and of using makeshift benches made of bricks and stones.
Pupils study on the bare floor
The classrooms were in a terrible state, with students sitting on a cracked cement floor while they studied.
Management claims that the current state of affairs is having an impact on the quality of education provided in elementary schools.
There may have been a 40% desk deficit across the country, but in the northern areas of Ghana (Savannah, Northern, North-East, Upper West, Upper East, Bono East, and Oti), the ratios were significantly higher.
Pupils on bare floor
The Northern Region’s Gushegu Municipality is particularly hard hit, with a shortfall of more than 60%.
Students in elementary school are sometimes relegated to sitting on the floor or laying on their bellies as a result of the shared desks and the fact that they are grouped in groups of four. In junior high, things get even worse.
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Educators are expressing their displeasure, stressing that the current situation is impeding students’ ability to learn.
There are more than 768 students enrolled in grades KG through 6 at Mahama Hafiz’s Maazijung M/A primary school, but the school only has 40 pieces of furniture (some of which are damaged), thus most of the students have to sit on the floor.
Pupils study on bare floor
“The children are not comfortable and so most of them don’t come to school again. Their parents cannot also afford to provide them with the furniture and so we are just managing here.”
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