Ghanaian education as seen from an Accra suburb

Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 289--305,1995 Copyright© 1995ElsevierScienceLtd Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 0738-0593/95 $9.50 + .00

Int. J. Educational Development,

Pergamon 0738--0593(94)00040-9

G H A N A I A N E D U C A T I O N AS SEEN FROM AN A C C R A SUBURB M A R G A R E T PEIL Centre of West African Studies, Birmingham University, Birmingham B15 2TT, U.K. Abstract - - Ghana has been a leader in African education, but economic problems in the 1970s and 1980s led to declining attendance and low teacher morale. In response to a Structural Adjustment Program, in 1986 junior secondary (JSS) was substituted for middle schooling and more emphasis was put on vocationalism in these schools. This paper examines the perception of these changes by adults in a rapidly growing suburb of the capital. What do they expect and what are they getting from academic and vocational education? What have they achieved through the education they received, and to what extent is educational advantage passed on to one's children? Disillusionment is still widespread, but expectations and/or lack of alternatives mean that considerable resources are still invested in educating their children.

INTRODUCTION The rapid expansion of education in Africa since independence has been a matter of primary political and economic concern. Given the present financial constraints and unacceptable levels of unemployment among school leavers, governments, the World Bank and other donors are giving considerable attention to making education more relevant to national needs. There tends to be a paternalistic view that what ordinary people think of the system is neither well-informed nor important. But as parents are increasingly asked to pay directly for their children's education, their views should be taken into account. Insofar as participation in the system is the result of individual and family decisions and success is assessed by those who are paying the bill, we should have more information on consumers' reactions to the system. The relevance of education varies widely with the family background and aspirations of students and their parents, and what seems relevant to the policy-maker may not be equally so to many who are using the system. Ghana is a good place to ask about the longterm effects of educational expansion, because it was an early leader in the African race for education. By the 1960s, a larger proportion of young people went beyond primary school in Ghana than anywhere else in tropical Africa. Consonant with its size, Ghana is a major 289

exporter of educated people, since there are far more young people leaving her universities and secondary schools than the economy can absorb (Segal, 1993, pp. 153, 156). This emigration greatly increased with the hard times in the 1980s; many educated Ghanaians lost jobs and/or income differentials, and large numbers went to Nigeria, where there was a shortage of people with enough education (or the motivation) to be teachers and secretaries. There is an extensive diaspora of educated Ghanaians in industrialised countries. By the 1990s, a large majority of Ghanaians under 50, at least in the southern half of the country, have been to school m usually beyond primary to middle school. The Ghana Living Standards Survey (1988) reported that 91% of boys and 87% of girls age 6-11 in Accra and 76% and 61% of children nationally were attending or had attended school. The figures for 12-15-year-olds were 90 and 75% in Accra and 75 and 58% nationally. However, rather than continuing to expand, the Ghanaian educational system contracted in the 1980s; from 79% of the cohort enrolled in primary school in 1980, the proportion dropped back, with only 75% enrolled in 1990. Secondary enrolment was much higher in 1990 (39%) than in 1970 (14%). Females have made notable gains, though they are still behind males; 67% of the relevant cohort were enrolled in primary and 31% in secondary in 1990. Tertiary enrolment

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is still very small (2%), but the proportion of females at this level has risen to 24% (Commonwealth Universities Yearbook, 1993; World Bank, 1993, Tables 29 and 32). , Primary and secondary enrolment for boys held up longer than for girls in the adverse conditions of the 1980s; parents who could not afford to send all their children to school in the early 1980s continued to send the boys. The difference between overall access to school (as shown in the GLSS) and attendance figures suggests that during these difficult years many (mostly rural) children did not even finish primary school. Many children in primary and junior secondary school in the early 1990s are over age, often because starting school was delayed or school years were missed at the peak of Ghana's long economic crisis. Most Ghanaian children, especially in urban areas, are now the second or even third generation in their families to attend school. Personal experience of schooling affects adults' provision of education for their children, for which fees must now be paid, and makes them more aware than their parents were of what is happening to education in Ghana. Immigrants to Ghana have traditionally been labourers or traders because they had less education than Ghanaians; since they often settle down and raise their children in Ghana, their opinions on the opportunities which education provides affect the decision to send their children to school. Governments have long pushed education as important for national economic development. Ordinary Ghanaians use the educational system instrumentally, to enhance personal 'progress'. They may avoid studying science if they see few jobs in that sector, and continue to aim for civil service positions for the security they offer rather than focusing on improving national productivity in agriculture or manufacturing. Technological studies are popular insofar as they seem to lead to jobs - - the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi has about the same number of students as the University of Ghana at Legon, with its wider range of 'academic' disciplines as well as a Faculty of Agriculture. Although a new university centred on agriculture is being established in the north, there has been limited enthusiasm for higher studies in this field because most Ghanaians see education as a ladder out of farming. Teacher training, at diploma or degree level, is often

seen as merely a step on the way to more lucrative employment rather than as leading to a career educating the next generation. As Moock (1973) found in Kenya, village families often make considerable sacrifices to educate their children to the highest level possible to prepare them for successful migration. The link between education and jobs is obvious to most people, but as large numbers of young people cannot find the employment which education seemed to promise them, has faith in education as the key to mobility been lost? If so, what are the implications for schooling the next generation? From the 1960s to the late 1980s, mass education in Ghana provided 6 years of primary school followed by 4 years of middle school, leading to the Middle School Leaving Certificate (MSLC). Secondary entry depended on passing a Common Entrance Examination after Primary 6, Middle 2 or Middle 4. For the best students, 5 years of secondary school led to 0 levels and (for a few) a 2 year sixth form, on the British pattern. In 1986, under the influence of the Structural Adjustment Program, a new system was launched. A 3 year junior secondary school (JSS) was substituted for middle school and the first 3 years of selective secondary, in the hope of providing more equal opportunities for those who in recent years have had little access to secondary schools (Cobbe, 1991, p. 105). The curriculum at this level was to be 'widened, enhanced and made more relevant', with local languages, the study of health and agriculture and 'the rudiments of a trade' for all children (Scadding, 1989, p. 44). All JSS are supposed to have technical facilities, and technical work is an important part of the JSS examination. Those most successful in the JSS examinations enter a 3 year senior secondary school (SSS); these have room for only a small minority of the JSS output. The goal has been to expand secondary schools at lower cost to the government, but also, on Structural Adjustment principles, to provide more job-relevant education for the 12-15 age group. Unfortunately, the locally produced textbooks and equipment have been very slow in coming and there has been little money to retrain teachers for the new programme. Some communities have enthusiastically welcomed the JSS idea and contributed to building new schools; others have been

GHANAIAN EDUCATION apathetic - - the basic floor, pillars and roof provided by the state have been ignored, especially by poor northern villagers who are unlikely to get the resources needed for success in the new system. Across the country, failure rates have been especially notable in mathematics, since children coming from inadequate primary schools cannot cope with the new curriculum. Neither can some of their teachers. In this study, urban parents were asked to assess what education has done for them and what the new system is doing for their children. THE SAMPLE This report is based on a study of Madina, a suburb of Accra, in early 1993. In the 34 years of its existence, Madina has grown to over 42,000 people from all over Ghana and beyond. The University of Ghana is only 2 miles down the road, so it is a convenient place for university personnel, from professors to labourers and students, to live. It also houses civil servants, petty traders, teachers and skilled craftsmen; former soldiers find it a good place for retirement. It has three large 'complexes' of government primary and JS schools; the Catholic and Islamic schools also get government support. In addition, there are at least 11 private primary schools and 32 nurseries run by churches and private individuals. The two government-supported SSS in the area take relatively few Madina students, but others go into Accra or up-country for secondary schooling. Several small private SSS and commercial schools in Madina cater for those who did not get a place in more prestigious SSS. In addition, vocational training is available, often with residential accommodation, from the Institute of Professional Studies (focusing on accounting and management and affiliated to the University); the National Women's Training Centre; three clergy training centres and a sewing academy. The local education authority statistics for February 1993 show 3542 children in nursery schools, 8783 in primary schools and 2678 in JSS. In each case, the boys and girls are evenly balanced; 42% of primary pupils and 19% of JSS pupils are in private schools. The rapidly growing demand for places at all levels puts considerable strain on head teachers, who lack the resources for new buildings. One government primary school has classes in an open,

291

thatched-roof structure; the other buildings are of wood and some are over 30 years old. In a newer part of the town, parents built a three-room extension to the primary school. It was finished in a hurry so that the JSS on the same plot could reclaim its technology room. Data come from a 1-in-15 sample census, which included 265 houses and 2980 people in all parts of the town. From the census sheets, 600 adults were selected for interview to provide a wide range of backgrounds and experience. Two thirds of those selected were male because men's migration and occupational experiences are more heterogeneous than women's. Older people and the well-educated were over-selected because otherwise there would be too few in the sample for comparisons; young people, especially students, and petty traders are underrepresented. The census provides information on age, education, occupation and migration experience of all adults and the occupation and education of their mothers and fathers. The interviews asked for migration and occupational histories; an evaluation of their educational experience; the education and occupation of siblings and children; reading habits; an assessment of Ghanaian education today and its role in getting ahead; and a comparison of the relative knowledge of current events, success and happiness of the well-educated and the uneducated. Finally, incomes and house ownership provide additional indicators of 'success' in Ghanaian terms. This was a well-travelled group of people. Some had gone to Nigeria or other African countries during the economic crisis of the 1980s, several had lived in Europe, and old soldiers had been as far afield as Burma and Somalia. There was considerable migration from rural to urban areas for secondary or vocational education, but many young people also attended primary school away from their place of birth. University graduates were most likely to have lived in three or more regions or countries, and siblings and children who were graduates were more likely than those with less education to be living outside Ghana. None of the male university graduates had lived in a rural area. Much is heard of the preference of educated people for urban life. Schools are blamed for stimulating migration to the cities, though this seems inevitable since cities provide the op-

M A R G A R E T PEIL

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portunities which make education worthwhile. Many Madina residents had moved out from Accra for housing; many worked in Accra. After a series of questions about what was best and worst about Madina, they were asked where they would prefer to live: Accra, Madina or a village. A majority at all educational levels preferred Madina. Accra was most popular with young men who had gone beyond middle school, but women with primary, Islamic or middle school education were most likely to prefer Accra because of its better amenities and possibilities for trade. Only one university graduate preferred a village, compared to 11% of illiterates. Cost is a major factor in educational provision at all levels. Government primary schools and JSS charge C13,700 per term, and may add admission, sports, textbook and development fees. For JSS, this comes to C16,250 per. term for new students (about £18), at a time when the minimum wage is only C12,000 per month and many women heads of households earn even less. (This may be more important in stimulating the acceptance of birth control than any propaganda by the family planning agency.) Nurseries charge about the same fees as primary schools and SSS fees are higher. Many private schools have about the same fees as government schools; one which charged only C8,700 per term was growing very rapidly. One nursery had a sign on the door: 'No fees, no school', and children in uniform on the streets during school hours may explain that they have been sent home for non-payment of fees. Nevertheless, there is a strong belief that education is necessary and most of the school-age children in Madina attend (see Table 1).

The sample census showed that few men or women born since 1949 had not been to school. Most illiterates were over 50, often immigrants from the Sahel who had arrived in Ghana as adults. About a third of the Madina children under five are in nursery school, and the few over five who have not yet started school are mostly only s i x - - the normal age for Primary 1. In addition to the need for nurseries because most mothers work, many parents are under the impression that their children will only be accepted into a primary school if they have already been exposed to the government's nursery curriculum. Only 17% of adults were Muslims, and few of these reported Islamic schooling for themselves or their parents, perhaps because it is usually informal and small-scale, unlike state education. Few Ghanaians attend only primary school; about a third of the adults had only middle schooling, with women being slightly more likely to have stopped at this level than men. About a third of men and women had attended or were in secondary or vocational schools, including teacher and nursing training. Vocational schooling can be post-middle/JSS or post-SSS; it was not always possible to ascertain how much prior schooling an individual had, so vocational schooling must be seen as a heterogeneous category, with widely varying results for those who use it. Men were far more likely than women to have university level education (degree or diploma). The high level of university education among men is due to Madina's nearness to the university and the access to building plots which Madina provides, but also to a high income estate where state corporations own

Table 1. Educational participation of the Madina population by age and gender (percentages) Males

None Nursery Primary, Islamic Middle, JSS SSS, vocational University, diploma Total N

Females

>5

514

1524

2534

3549

5064

65+

>5

514

1524

2534

3549

5064

65+

62 38 na na na na 100 168

3 7 70 20 na na 100 391

4 na 6 47 41 2 100 306

4 na 5 38 39 14 100 228

10 na 4 36 36 14 100 251

25 na 12 32 23 8 100 96

34 na 20 24 7 15 100 41

68 32 na na na na 100 148

9 9 67 15 na na 100 381

12 na 8 53 26 1 100 357

17 na 7 43 32 1 100 272

30 na 9 36 24 1 100 217

46 na 10 23 19 2 100 95

68 na 8 16 8 0 100 25

GHANAIAN EDUCATION

fiats for their senior administrators. Thirteen men and seven women in the sample census were attending university; most were over 25 and one woman was a former teacher over 35. Too few women with university education were interviewed to include them in later tables. The distribution by age demonstrates that boys had access to mass schooling considerably earlier than most girls; the major gap for men is at age 50, whereas for women each age category down to 15-24 shows a notable improvement. Increases in attendance are now hard to make: parents who do not see schooling as important can no longer be pressured into sending their children to school, but fees also prevent some children from attending. Girls' gains in secondary and vocational schooling shadowed those of

[]

None

[ ~ Prim

293

men until the 15-24 cohort, when the adverse economic environment appears to have had a much greater effect on post-JSS education for girls than for boys. EDUCATIONAL INHERITANCE We tend to assume that as education expands parents will try to provide more education for their children than they themselves had (Peil, 1990), though this applies more to sons than to daughters and is affected by both parental resources and school availability. The most striking case of urban parental selectivity in this study was an elderly driver from Burkina Faso who had attended Islamic school at home and built a successful transport business in Ghana.

[]7 Middle

[]

Voc

See

100%

100%

80%

80% =.

60%

o cJ

60%

¢J

¢= 40% o r~

40%

20%.

20%

i

None

Primary Middle Second

Voc

0

Univ

o

None

i

i

i

Primary Middle Second

i

Voc

Fathers' e d u c a t i o n

Mothers' education

(3) Father to d a u g h t e r

(4) Mother to daughter

100% "0 o

Univ

(2) Mother to s o n

(I) Father to s o n

0

[]

Univ

100% 80%-

80% o

0

60% 40%

~

60%-

4o%-

a

20%

20%-

None

Primary Middle Second Fathers' e d u c a t i o n

Voc

Univ

0

None Primary Middle Second

Voc

Mothers' education

Fig. 1. Educational inheritance: highest level reached by parent and child.

Uuiv

294

MARGARET PEIL

He sent his eldest son to state schools, while other sons and daughters got only Islamic education. The educated son is now a university lecturer, while his brothers and sisters are traders and drivers, Figure 1 includes the siblings of respondents and their children over 15 as well as adults in the Madina sample census; thus, many of those included were not living in towns when decisions about schooling were made. It shows that a majority of fathers with primary education or none at all provided at least middle school education for their children; many of their sons went on to secondary school and one in 20 reached university. However, incremental inheritance tends to stick at middle school, where mass education stops. After that, education becomes much more expensive and selective. In the hard times of the last 15 years, many educated fathers have provided their children, especially daughters, with less education than they themselves had, though seldom less than middle school. It is difficult to assess an independent influence of mother's education, because fathers often have more education than mothers and can pass on this advantage to both their sons and daughters. However, many mothers pay school fees on their own because the father has left or refuses; a well-educated mother often has more resources for school fees as well as a more positive attitude towards education than an uneducated one. On the whole, mother's post-middle education was a better guarantee of going beyond middle school than father's, though some daughters of women teachers only got middle schooling. Mother's influence is especially notable at the secondary level, where inheritance is higher than for any other category. Daughters are somewhat more likely to inherit vocational education, from father or mother, than sons, and girls whose mother attended vocational or secondary school are more likely than those with fathers with this level of education to get secondary abe/or post-secondary education themselves. Vocational schooling is a mixed category, so 'inheritance' may be less than it appears. Where an individual reported both secondary and vocational schooling (as for post-secondary teacher training), the latter was used in the figure. In the 1950s and 1960s-- for the parents-it usually consisted of training for either teaching or nursing, with a few commercial schools

also available. Training college was often a substitute for academic secondary schooling rather than a post-secondary course. There is now more variety available, with polytechnic education in a wide variety of manual and nonmanual skills leading to iobs which would have been achieved through informal apprenticeship in the past. Thus, 'vocational' may mean a post-secondary diploma in accounting or a short course in carpentry, car mechanics or sewing. It is notable that many parents with vocational schooling provided academic secondary schooling for their children, without a vocational 'top-up'. This suggests a recognition of the limits of vocational schooling, especially as the jobs for which it prepares (in both formal and informal sectors) are over-crowded. (In a small country in the early stages of industrialisation, courses which prepare 20-30 people yearly for a specific job - - textile technician, refrigerator mechanic - - will probably be over-producing within a few years.) Though, as will be shown below, it helps secondary leavers get employment, many parents continue to believe that higher academic studies will be more profitable. As expected, university education is most likely for those whose fathers attended university, but substantial numbers of boys with illiterate or semi-literate parents achieved a university education. The final numbers will be even higher, since quite a few students now in secondary school will eventually make it to the university; those with uneducated parents are likely to take up university studies at a later age than those with graduate parents. Father's education makes much more difference to girls than to boys; girls' chances of reaching university are two and a half times greater if their father is a graduate than if he only attended secondary school and three to five times greater than if he did not reach secondary school. The data on university attendance indicate narrowing opportunity in recent years, brought on by the rising competition for and costs of university places. Thirty years ago, all university students received grants, and the expanding school system appeared to improve the chances for young people of disadvantaged backgrounds (Bibby and Peil, 1974). However, in the 1970s and 80s national poverty seems to have narrowed these opportunities. Unless an able student gets into a good secondary school

GHANAIAN EDUCATION

(which may require paying fees for a highquality private primary school as well as for secondary schooling), the chances of achieving university entrance are poor. There are also many expenses which university students or their families must bear, so many able young people never make it. The declining value of secondary and even university attainment serves as a disincentive to private investment, but less than it might if so many people did not assume that in their case the averages would not apply. It is widely assumed that contacts will provide job opportunities for those with paper qualifications, and many people think they have contacts which might prove useful. OCCUPATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT To what extent had education paid off for these urban residents? The rewards have been considerable for some, but less for many recent school-leavers. Table 2 uses the longest job held by respondents and their parents, children and siblings. Three caveats apply, which do not affect the purpose of the table. (1) Many of these do not live in Madina or even in the Accra area. (2) This is not necessarily the job the person is doing at the moment, since many elderly people have retired and others have changed jobs in recent years. (3) Many people

295

have more than one job in order to make ends meet; their major occupation is used here. Most people seem to have jobs at about the level predicted by their education, but some middle school leavers managed to find clerical and supervisory jobs while substantial numbers of young people with post-middle education have had to settle for skilled or semi-skilled manual work or petty trading. There has also been a notable upgrading in the educational requirements for army recruits; many soldiers said they would not have been taken on without a Middle School Leaving Certificate. Similar changes in formal sector employment in Cameroun were found by Clignet (1976), but he did not study the informal sector or employment for women. On the whole, women appear to get more returns from post-middle school education than men, in that they are more concentrated in nonmanual work. However, this work is often poorly paid, and educated women are more likely than men to end up as petty traders, earning little. The possibility of moving up from petty trading to business, with considerable increase in income, is somewhat greater for those with at least middle school education. The rise from clerical work or teaching into the ranks of administrators or professionals usually requires a university diploma or degree; male

Table 2. Occupational achievement by education and gender (percentages) Occupation

None M F

Primary M F

Unskilled Semiskilled$ Uniformed Skilled Petty trade Business Clerical, teaching Professional, administration Total N Under 35, not employed§ N

66 9 4 8 7 4 1

28 18 5 29 9 2 6

39 3 0 1 56 1 ]1

]1 0 100 100 868 1438 0 32

16 103

Islamic M F

Middle M F

Secondary M F

16 8 0 8 66 [[ 2

30 21 0 17 26 2 2

12 2 0 0 81 0 5

15 20 12 25 8 4 13

8 10 1 19 49 3 9

4 5 9 10 5 8 43

1 8 1 10 31 7 39

1 5 1 27 4 6 47

0 4 1 5 13 4 70

2 100 160

§ 100 200

2 100 60

0 100 41

3 100 1172

1 100 831

16 100 521

3 100 291

9 100 225

3 100 205

67 100 229

26 100 27

6 16

10 60

4 25

43 21

10 304

19 405

23 149

19 123

12 83

6 123

0 33

0 3

*Includes teacher and nursing training and polytechnic courses. tlncludes university-based diplomas. SMostly drivers, hairdressers, cooks. §Residents of West Africa only; includes women who are housewives but excludes students. IlUnder 0.5%.

Vocational* M F

Universityt M F 1 N [I 0 1 6 25

0 0 0 0 0 7 67

296

MARGARET PEIL

graduates who start in teaching find it easier to escape than women do. A notable result of the recent expansion of vocational education in Ghana is its diversity - - different jobs are held by older and younger people with such education. Older people tend to have had training for teaching, nursing or commercial occupations; they now hold non-manual jobs. Many of the younger people got training for manual jobs; their 'further education' has been a substitute for an informal sector apprenticeship, and using it involves becoming a mechanic or doing other skilled manual work. This suggests a changing view of both the government and the general public as to what vocational education is about - - it is supposed to build on the pre-vocational skills in the revised JSS curriculum. This type of programme is unlikely to fulfil the aspirations of many who did not gain admittance to an SSS, but will be welcome insofar as it leads to real jobs. Many of those who attend vocational schools were in jobs unrelated to the training they received; some have become drivers or traders; trained teachers have gone into catering, baking and office work. In some cases, this is the result of the low wages paid to teachers and nurses; more money can be made by going into business, and quite a few who continue their semi-professional careers carry on a business on the side. Others found that no relevant job was available when they completed their training. A recent World Bank review (Middleton et al., 1993) points out that vocational education is not likely to repay its costs if the economy is not expanding rapidly enough to provide jobs. Ghanaians experience this problem, as demonstrated by the high emigration rate and general dissatisfaction of those who stay behind. Planners must ask if further expansion of formal vocational education can be justified. The situation for university graduates is also causing concern, though in this small sample the only graduates who were unemployed were victims of redundancy, over 35 years of age. A study of recent graduates by the Ghana Institute for Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER, personal communication) found that women are employed more quickly than men and that men are less satisfied with the jobs they get. Like the U.K., Ghana is trying to get a higher proportion of students to study science, but the ISSER study found

that science graduates are no more likely than arts graduates to find employment quickly. Most jobs for scientists are in teaching, and male teachers are the least satisfied of all graduates. Many prospective scientists prefer the University of Science and Technology because its courses lead to non-teaching jobs, but there are often far more qualified applicants than jobs. The base for the unemployment figures in Table 2 is much smaller than for the rest of the table, since all those over 35 or living outside West Africa have been excluded in the interests of focusing on relatively homogeneous employment opportunities. Those living in neighbouring countries (Nigeria, Togo, C6te d'Ivoire, etc.) are included because neighbouring labour markets have become part of Ghanaians' job search in recent years. Women who are housewives are included as well as those who were reported as unemployed because in a situation where the wife's income is usually needed and where it is normal for women to be self-supporting, the choice to remain out of the labour force may well be influenced by education. Though many women under 25 are married, the proportion of housewives is lowest and the proportion who consider themselves unemployed is highest in this age group. Few women over 25 report unemployment, but more see themselves as housewives. There is some return to active participation in the labour force after age 35, when the children are attending school. Overall, a large majority of women with vocational or university education remain in the labour force throughout their careers. Secondary and middle schooling are a less secure basis for continuous employment; labour force participation for these women is probably more closely related to need and opportunities (capital and skills) because the returns are mediocre. While the unemployment of adults with less than middle schooling may be due largely to domestic duties or lack of capital for trading, the large-scale unemployment of middle/JSS and secondary leavers is a clear indicator that the job market cannot soak up those with 'average' education. Secondary schooling may be more problematic than JSS because SSS leavers have higher expectations; 43% of male secondary leavers under 25 were unemployed, and secondary leavers in the 25-34 age group

GHANAIAN EDUCATION

were three times as likely to be unemployed as middle school leavers. Young secondary leavers who have found work are often in jobs which they might have ignored 20 years ago: petty trading, carpentry or tailoring, hairdressing. This is seldom because they are recent migrants, unfamiliar with the Accra labour market. Few of them had recently moved to Accra looking for work; most were well-established in Madina and living with their families. They have contacts, but these contacts cannot supply formal sector employment. There is a clear payoff to vocational education. The men are only half as likely to be unemployed as secondary leavers, and the advantage is even greater for women. For some, vocational training (rather than formal education) has been taken up after a period of post-school unemployment. Many middle school and secondary leavers in their twenties were in informal sector apprenticeships, which suggests that a long-term unemployment led them to believe that nothing better would come along. In the years following independence, most carpenters were illiterate, very few apprentices had gone beyond middle school, and most apprentices were in their mid to late teens (Peil, 1970, p. 1979). Since apprenticeship probably lasts no longer today than in the past, apprentices in their late 20s indicate a delayed start which is only partly explained by spending more years in school. GETTING A H E A D , SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS Respondents were asked to assess what they had achieved and what they might have done with more or less education. They then answered questions on the relative access of the educated and uneducated to political information and success. The answers provide considerable information on the measures people use in assessing success, the goals they set and the obstacles they face. First, they were asked to compare work, education, family, friends and luck as to which is the best way to get ahead in Ghana today. Some insisted that several of these are needed, but three-quarters mentioned education, compared to one-quarter who said work was important and small numbers who focused on family, contacts, luck or personal characteristics and abilities. (Though religion is an important part

297

of daily life, only one took the opportunity to add 'God'.) The proportion including education increased from 57% of those with no education (who thus had a convenient reason for their lack of success) to 89% of those who had university education (all of the women at this level). Those who lack education are most likely to see work as the main chance for getting head, but many perceive a close relationship between work and education. Next, those who had been to school were asked, 'How important do you think your education has been to you? How would your life have been different if you had not gone to school? If you had gone further in school?' Those who had not been to school were asked how their life might have been different if they had attended school, and all were asked about the relevance of education for finding work. There was overwhelming agreement that opportunities are less for those who have not been to school and improve the more education one gets. Overall, 58% mentioned various aspects of work, 11% focused on the knowledge one obtains, 17% included both of these and 11% said that it had been of no use at all or was not missed. Most of these had little or no education or had gone to Islamic rather than state schools. The rare unfavourable comments suggest that there are other ways to reach acceptable goals: My education did not get me any proper work; even if I didn't go to school and ended up a farmer, I would have been satisfied. (painter, MSLC) With more education, I might not be better off. I would become over-ambitious, since more education gives enhanced status. (security officer, diploma)

Education is still widely seen as leading to clerical work and a lack of education as leaving little escape from farming. Some of the uneducated had emigrated to Ghana because they could not get paid employment at home, whereas for Ghanaians education provides an opportunity to migrate to a city or to another country. No problem; I do not want clerical work. (illiterate petty trader) My middle school certificate helped to join the army and do further studies. It helps me read simple letters. I would have learned engineering if I had gone further, (but) my education was not useful; I failed to get office work to do. (fitter, primary) I would not be driving senior officers to work, but would be a senior officer. (MSLC)

298

MARGARET PEIL

I would not have had a chance to come to Accra. (seamstress, JSS) Without education, I would have been a poor farmer back in Mali; if more, I would have been given a more lucrative appointment. (businessman, degree) I would have had an office job in Benin and would not have come over here. (butcher, none) I would have worked in the civil service in Mali and not had to leave home for Ghana. (watchman, none) M a n y said that they had learned their skills in school, though for those who only attended middle school this seems unlikely. H o w e v e r , there are now a wide range of courses available after middle school/JSS, so these school leavers can prepare themselves for the job market. For example, the W o m e n ' s Training Centre in Madina teaches catering, dressmaking and other 'female' skills to JSS leavers. These will be used mainly in self-employment, but Accra hotels and boarding schools hire w o m e n with catering qualifications. Masters offering apprenticeships in driving, carpentry, car mechanics, etc. also prefer to train school leavers. Educated apprentices learn faster - - perhaps because they are older and m o r e anxious to earn m o n e y than illiterate youngsters. H o w ever, illiterate girls are still able to take up apprenticeships in hairdressing and sewing, working with their educated sisters. The number of w o m e n in Madina in such apprenticeships suggests a large over-supply in these trades. Education may not be necessary for work, especially for those who prefer self-employment using their manual or commercial skills, but it is seen as a key to wealth. If I had gone further, I would not be staying in two rooms with my family. (policeman, secondary 3) I would have been a rich man. (petty trader from Niger, Islamic) With more schooling, I would be a mechanical engineer, working in a big firm and earning a very good salary. (electrician, MSLC) In my day, it was not hard to get work even if I wasn't educated; I only needed small capital to start, but if I had been to school, I would have stopped selling at my age and be resting. (woman trader, age 60) Asked which subjects they studied were most valuable to them, about a third said reading, a fifth mathematics, a quarter both of these, 7% vocational subjects and 6% English. To judge by later comments, m o r e would have mentioned English if we had asked specifically about it. The rest mentioned a wide variety of subjects: culture, economics, history, language, music, politics, psychology, religion, science, and social relations. A graduate teacher men-

tioned the ability to think and solve problems and a footballer got his start in sport. This suggests that a syllabus which is expected to be 'relevant' to the lives of students may ignore m a n y important topics; providing as wide an education as possible is m o r e likely to fill 'relevance' criteria for a varied student body, over their lifetimes. For example, w o m e n c o m m e n t e d on its contribution to marriage and child-rearing: It would have been a curse to have no education; with more, I could have done better in the house. I use it to educate my children well. (housewife, O levels) It was useful to get a good husband who was highly educated. (baker, MSLC) Ninety-five per cent of those who had been to school thought that educated people are better informed on what is going on in the country than illiterates. Educated people have access to printed matter after leaving school, to inform themselves on what is going on. The m o r e education a person has, the wider their reading, though this is more true of men than of w o m e n (see Table 3). Religious reading was separated from secular sources because religious behaviour was a special focus of the study, but the Bible is also the most widely available printed source; newspapers and books must be purchased over and over, whereas a Bible lasts for life. Primary school seems to produce little permanent literacy, so those with less than middle school have been omitted from the table. W o m e n have less time for reading than men, and they are also disadvantaged in that reading matter often costs money. This is much less true of religious literature, and in this w o m e n ' s reading parallels that of men; the majority of those who have gone beyond primary school read the Bible or other religious literature daily. M e m b e r s of 'orthodox' and 'independent' churches with similar levels of education were equally likely to read the Bible daily. Newspapers, on the other hand, must be bought, and m a n y people in low-level jobs can no longer afford them. Men who have been to secondary school or university are most likely to be able to pay, and are most interested in the politics they contain. Accra has not yet developed bookstores on the scale of Lagos, and books are expensive. There is a great hunger for cheap paperbacks; an entrepreneur with some knowledge of b o o k selling is badly needed. However, a

GHANAIAN EDUCATION

299

Table 3. Reading habits by education and gender (percentages) Middle

Reads religious literature Never 1-4/month 2+/week Total Reads newspapers Never 1-4/month 2+/week Total Never reads books N

Secondary M F

M

F

14 25 61 100

10 33 57 100

7 26 67 100

12 42 46 100 39 138

37 40 23 100 54 70

large majority of secondary school leavers and university graduates reported reading at least one book in the past year. The number who had read four or more books rose with education from one-quarter of middle school leavers to three-quarters of the graduate men and from a fifth to all of the women at university level (two of the three were still students). Does education make people happier or make them discontented because their aspirations are unlikely to be fulfilled? The answer depends on varying definitions of happiness. While many people asserted that education---~a good job and/or income---~happiness, quite a few others distinguished between money and the happiness available through religion, a peaceful and fruitful family and house ownership (--~security). Illiterates' jobs may be insecure; they often lack the contacts which educated people have and they can be cheated by clever people who have been to school. But being educated may also have disadvantages. Few have the ability 'to be satisfied with what you have' (the definition of happiness of a clerk with A levels). Many educated people earn low salaries and do not get government accommodation. Wage employment is not all joy: If one depends on monthly pay, one will always face financial problems. (tailor, MSLC) Some educated people have only knowledge, no money and no house; how can they be happy? (elderly wood seller, no education) The educated are sometimes too ambitious. (clerk, O levels) Those with little education do not worry about the realities of the world; hence they feel happy, (graduate) They worry with so many things, so they die easily of heart attacks. (trader, Islamic)

University M

6 25 69 100

11 29 60 100

1

2

4

17 82 100 13 130

50 48 100 15 68

1 94 100 6 52

In terms of trading and farming, the uneducated are more successful; it is only in politics that the educated succeed better. (manager, diploma) Well-educated people hardly listen to advice and hence have many problems. (retired manager, commercial) Some well-educated people get good jobs and better pay, but do not have a good wife or husband and therefore are not happy at all. (male teacher, training college)

Note that this is not only sour grapes by the have-nots, but also a longing for a simpler life on the part of the haves and some rationalisation on the part of those in the middle. It is usually assumed that income rises with education, though not by much at the lower levels. Real incomes declined severely in the 1980s, and the gap between high and low incomes narrowed. Therefore, while Ghanaians would agree that a university degree provides a considerable income advantage, they are aware that many other factors also affect income. The Ghana Living Standards Survey (1988) found a consistent improvement in mean expenditure per capita with each increase in the education of the household head. However, (1) the reliance on expenditure is problematic, because most farailies do not keep track of expenditure; (2) expenses vary with location (i.e. land for food crops, cost of housing); (3) most households rely on more than one income to cover expenses; and (4) vocational education was not separately identified except for the post-secondary element, which was relatively small when most of these adults were in school. Ninety per cent of the GLSS households in the highest expenditure quintile had a head with middle school or less, though

300

MARGARET PEIL

37% of the whole GLSS sample had secondary school or more. In the Madina sample, those interviewed put themselves into one of six income categories, from less than C12,000 per month to over C160,000 (about £180). The reported income of those with middle schooling (some of whom completed only a year or two) was very similar to those with little or no education; secondary and vocational education do provide some gains, but few people without a university degree are high income-earners (see Table 4). Education provides less material rewards for women than for men, but vocational schooling is especially useful in getting women beyond low-income petty trade. Girls who attend secondary school can look forward to about the same rewards as their sisters who left after middle school, but if either can add vocational training, they are nearly as likely as their brothers to earn more than C40,000 per month (about £44, and more than three times the official minimum wage). Even if they prefer trading or running a business to teaching or nursing, vocational training helps them make the most of business opportunities. Vocational education helps raise males out of the lowest income sector; however, for the majority the rewards are about the same as (academic) secondary schooling. House-ownership outside Madina is not included in the table because it was not possible to separate family houses from those built by

the individual concerned. Inheritance and joint ownership of family houses is occurring in Madina, but is still rare; most houses were built or purchased by their present owners. Consistent with people's comments, house ownership is more equally distributed than income; age and gender are more important than education in acquiring a house in Madina. Men with less than middle schooling are twice as likely to be resident owners as men with more education, partly because so many illiterates are over 65. Time is an important substitute for financial resources when it comes to house ownership. Graduates often have housing provided by their employers, but some have enough surplus at a fairly young age to start a house in town or at home. Men with middle, secondary or vocational schooling can be owners in their fifties if they plan carefully and build incrementally. Many of the less-educated owners are former soldiers who used the lump sum on retirement to build a house. By the time they reach old age, a majority of men who chose to remain in town are house owners - - many moved to Madina because they could acquire land cheaply there. Others, including university graduates, choose to build at home instead, and retire there. Regardless of material rewards, a large majority see advantages in education, often well beyond their working life. It has provided them with interesting jobs, but also an understanding of the world around them, an ability to cope with change and an expanded social life. Even

Table 4. Monthly income and house ownership, by education and gender (%) Less than Middle M F Income >C20,000" C20-39,999 C40-79,999 C80,000+ Total N House owners Age 35--49t 50-64 65+$

Middle M

F

Secondary M F

Vocational M F

University M

19 44 31 6 100 64 33

28 56 14 2 100 50 7

13 53 28 6 100 127 16

36 43 16 5 100 63 5

23 32 39 15 100 61 15

37 30 18 15 100 33 4

14 38 35 14 100 58 12

13 23 54 10 100 31 10

0 15 23 62 100 47 18

17 10 81

8 13 11

11 45 100

4 27 0

13 55 100

8 20 25

10 27 100

0 43 100

18 38 50

*Those with no income have been omitted. tPercent in that age category who own a Madina house. :~Except for illiterates, the bases for these percentages are less than 10.

G H A N A I A N EDUCATION

middle school helps people to better understand their society and polity. For example, education protects people from being cheated; most people know of examples where civil servants or buyers took advantage of illiterates. I am aware of my rights through education; more education would have contributed to my personal and social development. (woman trader, MSLC) I am able to move about freely without any inferiority complex. (musician, MSLC) Education gives confidence and certainty about the future. (labourer, Islamic). It has helped me in everything I do as a human being. (graduate engineer) The educated can handle situations and have contacts. (woman trader, MSLC) Educated people are more enlightened and can participate better in social life. (unemployed, secondary) Having good work is in itself happiness. (cook, technical) You can do whatever you are doing better. (storekeeper, secondary) Education gives you many advantages; money is not happiness. (nurse, O levels) It opens so many doors to the world. (clerk, secondary) Illiteracy is a disease; education provides employment, social contacts, enlightenment and training. (trained nurse) l am fit to my society. (mechanic, polytechnic)

The envy factor is also evident, with education seen as characteristic of an exploitative elite: the educated live in government bungalows, drive cars, have 'easy' jobs with fringe benefits, and 'know how to spend leisure time joyfully' (auditor, diploma). They travel widely and get large bank loans and scholarships abroad for their children. Those who got little or no education feel that they have lost out, because they 'get small pay and live in single rooms with many children' (driver, Islamic). This encourages many to seek the benefits of education for their children, even though they

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are well aware of the deficiencies of the present system. Answers to the question, 'Do you think education in Ghana today is better or worse than what you had?' provides a customer's assessment of recent changes in Ghana's educational system (see Table 5). Few people with less than middle school answered this question (they felt that they had little basis for comparison), but these agreed with the majority in their disappointment with what is now being provided. A study in rural Tanzania by Cooksey et al. (1993) found similar disillusionment. As a retired teacher saw it, Ghanaian 'education is on a downward trend.' Nearly threequarters of the men and over half of the women said that education today is worse than what they experienced. On the whole, men were more likely than women to think that education has deteriorated, probably because in the past it opened more opportunities for them than for women. Men with middle and secondary schooling are equally disparaging, and those who had been to university were only marginally more likely to approve of the system. While parents in many countries often complain that schools were better in the past, Ghanaians give many reasons for their conclusions. Parental protests may be ignored by governments when schooling is free, compulsory and universal, but they deserve consideration when there is still a choice as to whether to send children to school. Widespread dissatisfaction with the education system further lowers the morale of ill-paid teachers, who are often blamed when school leavers are inadequately educated. This, in turn, makes it harder to draw qualified people into teaching.

Table 5. Education today compared with the past, by own education and gender (percentages) None, Primary M F Better Same Worse Total N

7 7 86 100 14

29 7 64 100 14

Middle M

F

24 5 71 100 132

35 18 47 100 66

Secondary M F 21 7 72 100 125

30 11 59 100 66

University M 24 10 67 100 51

302

MARGARET PEIL

What is going wrong? What do people want that they are not getting, and why do they find the new system unacceptable? The major criteria for assessment were falling standards (40%), resources (21%), rising costs (8%) and vocational training/jobs (7%). Comments on standards and costs were totally negative. Some felt that facilities or resources had improved in recent years, but many others complained of shortages. Thus, it was not the policy which is wrong, but the government's inadequate support for it. The new JSS curriculum promised much, but too many communities lack teachers, books and equipment. The major criteria for many parents is whether schooling leads to employment. Those who approved of the pre-vocational training available in JSS were matched by those who worried about the lack of jobs for school leavers. Tinkering with the curriculum will not satisfy parents if the economy remains depressed. Dissatisfaction with standards increases regularly with age (the 'better in my day' syndrome): less than a third of those under 35 mentioned this, compared to nearly two-thirds of those over 65. Vocational training and the availability of jobs are the criteria most often used by those under 25; almost no one over 50 mentioned this. Presumably these older people worry less about the schools providing jobs and more about a good basic education. Costs, on the other hand, are especially problematic to those who have not had much education themselves, and thus cannot afford the fees of the 'better' private schools. Fees are more difficult to pay in northern Ghana than in the relatively better-off south, but there is evidence in Madina and Accra that fees are keeping urban children out of school. In addition to the official costs, parents who want their children to do well may also be paying for extra tuition outside of school hours. This is a widespread problem, probably less prevalent in Ghana than in many parts of the world, but it is stimulated by low teacher salaries and highly selective SSS; it poses another barrier to equal opportunity through the school system. A major measure of falling standards is declining facility in English. In a country where most people who go to school get 6-9 years, it seems reasonable to expect that they will be able to speak and read the national language - - which their newspapers and many radio programs use. One woman trader com-

mended Islamic schools because 'students are now taught English and mathematics'. Many complained that those who did not finish middle school in the past used better English than today's JSS output. A driver with MSLC complained that 'Many who finish secondary school are unable to express themselves fluently in English'. Many conclude that additional schooling does not pay off in jobs because school leavers have inadequate English. Nor is English necessarily enough; French is also seen as advantageous. The recent requirement that all SSS students study French provoked a lively controversy in letters to the weekly West Africa from Ghanaians abroad. While some argued that too many languages were being required, others felt that French was essential for Ghanaians, who are surrounded by Francophones. Though politicians and educationalists sometimes push for more indigenous languages in the schools on Politically Correct or psychological grounds, very few parents see the benefit of this. They assume that children learn local languages in daily life outside the school, and they are not the key to selective SSS. As an electrician with MSLC put it, 'There are a large number of private schools in the big towns where children get French in addition to English. In such schools, children can speak and write good English, as compared when the vernacular was the medium of instruction.' Those who recommend that African school systems should focus on local languages should take into consideration the advantages which accrue to those who are fluent in the national language, and the disadvantages suffered by those whose literacy is limited to a language for which there is little reading matter and which offers few job opportunities. Other factors in declining standards are indiscipline and poor morale, attributed to lazy or inattentive teachers and pupils. A student study of schools in the Madina area (Asorbah, 1989) found that the pass rate for MSLC dropped from 67% to 45% between 1985 and 1987. Teachers complained that pupils did not study outside of school, at least partly because they could not take books home; 24% said that inappropriate techniques were used to introduce English, 27% complained of inadequate materials (e.g. only one book so lessons had to be copied from the blackboard) and 9% said parents did not support their children.

GHANAIAN EDUCATION Most children made little or no use of English outside the schoolroom, which greatly hindered their progress. Presumably few read anything outside of school either. Given the inadequate accommodation and resources of many schools and the low pay of teachers, it is hardly surprising that morale is low. Overcrowded classrooms are common in both government and private schools in Madina, but the staff-student ratio is usually somewhat lower in the latter. The JSS curriculum was introduced before books were available, and teachers got little preparation for it. Head teachers are well aware of how their pupils do on the yearly examinations, and can use their success when asking for parental support. Parents want their children to get into prestigious secondary schools, but given the shortage of places the majority will be disappointed. As in the U . K . , children who see only unemployment ahead or who find that they can make money from petty trading without a JSS certificate are sometimes hard to discipline. Parents who work long hours to support the family have little time to encourage their children's school performance, or even check that they are not playing truant. Those who are positive about education today often emphasise what is available in the best schools - - often privately owned - - rather than average performance. Cobbe (1991) suggests that the government should close all private schools as the only way to ensure that children from advantaged homes do not get better education than the rest. Such a move would be seen by many parents (and not just rich parents) as closing off the best that Ghanaian education has to offer and losing a model for the state system to aim at. A mason who had attended training college commented, 'Most children cannot read and write; only those at'private schools do better.' As in many countries, the state cannot support the demand for places, and many parents are willing to sacrifice to support their children's future. Given new facilities and creatively taught courses, children can do well in state JSS and parents who choose a private school may be greatly disappointed. However, a mixed system permits choice and experimentation, at minimal cost to the state; parents think it is well worth having. Some people hope that the present emphasis on pre-vocational education in JSS will pay

303

off. As a catering officer with polytechnic training said, 'Changes in the education system are aimed at meeting present demands.' This could be politically dangerous, since more is promised than can be delivered. Pre-vocational courses for the masses will not improve their chances of either formal or informal sector employment. A woman teacher had already found that, 'JSS are not leading to useful jobs.' Some parents commented that courses are now shorter (not always making clear whether this was seen as an advantage; at least there are less fees to be paid). Others are impressed with the increasing numbers of university graduates. No one commented on graduate unemployment, which is beginning to worry the government. CONCLUSION Grassroots opinion should be consulted from time to time to see what ordinary people expect from their schools and how they assess what is being provided. Changes often leave people dissatisfied, but in some cases they are right. Complaints about declining value in Ghana seem justified, but parents' demands for improved English and better resources for the schools deserves government consideration. Strong public support will be needed if conditions are to improve. This picture of Ghanaian education has few surprises; it reflects the experience of many African countries. However, most studies report on the early stages of educational development, when people need to be convinced of the value of education. Ghana is near the middle stage. The package 'Education is G o o d ' and its corollary 'More education is better' have been accepted. Once this stage is reached, most parents make considerable sacrifices to ensure that their children get a share in what education can provide, in spite of their assessment of its inadequacies. Whereas the reintroduction of fees in the 1960s led to a large drop in primary enrolment, today southern urban parents pay fees even for nursery school, to give their children a chance. While large numbers of Tanzanian parents only send their children to school because the government forces them to (Cooksey et al., 1993), few Madina parents fail to provide at least JSS for their children. They are often critical of the system, but they are convinced that their children need it. Many

304

M A R G A R E T PEIL

want to believe government promises that the structure is likely to exacerbate this problem. new JSS system will pay off in opportunity, and It is not clear whether the SSS programme surprisingly few complain of the high levels of can expand at a sufficiently high standard to selectivity in SSS provision. The lack of jobs reverse the trend. Low-quality selective schools for school leavers is blamed on the schools, get large numbers of eager students, who eventas it is in Britain, but also on lazy children ually find that they have been cheated. Insofar as well as unmotivated teachers and resource as elite children get most of the places in the deficiencies. best schools (as they do in Ghana), ordinary The government puts considerable emphasis people have a right to complain. on pre-vocational and vocational education. Its Most people believe that education widens goal may be literate farmers and artisans who horizons, improves knowledge of the outside are satisfied with their lot and not longing world and helps people to cope with a changing for urban, formal sector employment. How- society. This cannot be monetised, but provides ever, both parents and children see the matter support for an educational system which has differently. For them, development means a many obvious problems. Mass education prohigher standard of living than agriculture or vides little material advantage for the average most forms of self-employment can provide. school leaver because the economy cannot cope They are convinced that academic education with the demand for jobs, but it is supported is better than vocational education because it because no one can predict who will reap leads to higher income, more prestigious jobs. the benefits. There is hope that the new They are right, but they ignore the reality that JSS program will achieve its goals, but many there are only a few of these jobs, unless one parents are already disillusioned, arguing that emigrates. Eventually, Ghana may follow the government leaders have promised much but pattern of the Philippines, where higher edu- not been prepared to pay for it. Nevertheless, cation, especially for the professions, supplies at least in urban areas, the benefits outweigh large numbers of 6migrrs whose remittances the costs. keep the country going. It is easier to create Women inherit less from their parents' eduan educated nation than an industrial nation. cational status and get less advantage than men There is widespread agreement that edu- from going beyond middle school. While a few cated people are happier and more successful of those in trade do well, many remain at the than those without education, whether they minimum wage level or less. Some are under stay at home or go abroad. To some ex- pressure from their husbands to remain out tent, this includes anyone who is literate, of the labour force or prefer being a housesince middle schooling is helpful in acquiring wife because alternatives are so unpromising. skills and finding jobs. However, it is widely A degree usually provides women with only recognised that most of those who run the clerical or semi-professional occupations, in a country these days, who have the best jobs and country where women have long had a measure the most opportunities, have gone beyond mass of power, at least in the south. education into the selective sector. This makes More study is needed of the variety of vocait important that opportunities for selective tional schooling available and the use which is education are not limited to a small segment made of it in the labour force. Are the 'rudiof the population. ments of a trade' passed on in JSS of any help to Whereas it was assumed that in an expanding the hundreds of thousands of students exposed system parents would provide more education to them? What sorts of vocational education for their children than they had themselves, are most popular and most useful to those who in Ghana this process seems to have stuck complete such courses? Given a wide choice, at middle school/JSS, with top-up vocational what courses are over-subscribed and which are schooling if it is available and can be paid for. avoided? What are the expectations of students Secondary and especially university education on such courses and of their parents? How are less open than seemed possible in the 1960s. aware are they of job market limitations? Rising entry requirements have made it very - - I am grateful to the Nuffield difficult for the mature student, often of rural Acknowledgements Foundation for a grant to support this research and background and who missed formal SSS, to to D r K. Baku and the Institute of African Studies, get into the university. The new educational University of Ghana for advice and additional support.

GHANAIAN EDUCATION

REFERENCES Asorbah, G. A. (1989) Some factors contributing to elementary school pupils' poor performance in English language: a case study of 'cluster schools' in Madina. Sociology Department, University of Ghana, Legon. Bibby, J. and Peil, M. (1974) Secondary education in Ghana: private enterprise and social selection. Sociology of Education 47, 399-418. Clignet, R. (1976) The Africanization of the Labor Market: Educational and Occupational Segmentations in the Camerouns. University of California Press, Berkeley. Cobhe, J. (1991) The political economy of education reform in Ghana. In Ghana: The Political Economy of Recovery (edited by Rothchild, D.), pp. 101-115. Lynne Rienner, Boulder, CO. Commonwealth Universities Yearbook (1993) Association of Commonwealth Universities, London. Cooksey, B., Malekela, G. and Lugalla, J. (1993) Parents' Attitudes Towards Education in Rural Tanzania. TADREG Research Report 5, Tanzania Development Research Group, Dar es Salaam.

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Ghana (1988) Ghana Living Standards Survey, 1987." Preliminary Results. Accra: Ghana Statistical Service. Middleton, J. et al. (1993) Skills for Productivity: Vocational Education and Training in Developing Countries. Oxford University Press for the World Bank, Oxford. Moock, J. L. (1973) Pragmatism and the primary school: the case of a non-rural village. Africa 43, 302-315. Peil, M. (1970) The apprenticeship system in Accra. Africa 40, 137-50. Peil, M. (1979) West African urban craftsmen. Journal of Developing Areas 14, 3-22. Peil, M. (1990) Intergenerational mobility through education: Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. International Journal of Educational Development 10, 311-325. Scadding, H. (1989) Junior secondary schools - - an education initiative in Ghana. Compare 19, 43-48. Segal, A. (1993) An Atlas of International Migration. Hans Zell, London. World Bank (1993) World Development Report 1993. World Bank, Washington, DC.