COMMEMORATION OF UN DAY: A HIGHLIGHT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILD EDUCATION

As the United Nations Day was commemorated on Saturday, October 24, I would like to draw attention to the significant efforts made by the UN in the area of education. October 24 is observed every year as the UN Day to celebrate its work, with respect to the promotion of human rights, diversity and progress across the world. Regarding the education sector, the UN has intensified its efforts in making significant educational reforms available to its member states.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child affirms that every child has a right to education however, millions of children do not have access to quality education. Education is the basic block of every nation and it is vital in building a prosperous and healthy society. Education creates opportunities for varied levels of human development; it is key to escaping poverty. The procurement of education and its application is imperative to every thriving economic growth; this is because the determination of a nation’s socio-economic development are contingent on its human resources. This means that if the human resources are not well-equipped to drive the country’s capital and material resources, it will spell doom for such countries.

The purpose of education is to enable the child to develop and reach his or her fullest possible potential in order to be an asset to the society. As a global community, every society has a stake in expanding the educational opportunities of the child.

With reference to Ghana, I would like to highlight the development of child education in the Western and Western North Regions, these are places where educational reforms are still needed in order to reach top notch socio-economic development. In spite of the significant progress that has been made in the educational attainment and enrolment rates for children in these regions, there are still some challenges that impede them from having access to quality education. In the rural areas of these two regions, most school environments are not usually conducive to teaching and learning; this can be attributed to overcrowding, lack of water and sanitation facilities, inadequate trained teachers and the lack of teaching materials and stationeries.

As we applaud the strides UN has made in improving diversity, culture and human rights (which include the basic right to education) and with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) still working with the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service to create a conducive learning environment in schools, the government of Ghana is encouraged to continue churning out educational policies to improve pedagogy and basic facilities as this will help to maintain educational standards at all levels in the Western and Western North Regions.