By Benjamin Nii Nai Anyetei
Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) has held a national dissemination convening at the University of Ghana, Accra, to present findings from an extensive Out-of-School Children (OOSC) Census conducted across Northern Ghana, revealing that boys now account for the majority of children missing school in the region.
The convening, held on December 11, 2025, brought together policymakers, education agencies, civil society organisations, and development partners to examine updated data and chart a stronger national response to the persistent OOSC challenge.
Despite Ghana’s progress toward universal basic education, Eduwatch noted that thousands of children, particularly in underserved northern regions, remain outside the classroom. UNESCO data from 2020 estimates that about 283,000 primary-aged and 135,000 lower secondary-aged children in Ghana are out of school, with the situation most severe in deprived communities.
With support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and in partnership with the STAR-Ghana Foundation, Eduwatch conducted the census across 20 districts in the Upper East, Northern, Upper West, North East, and Savannah Regions to generate current, community-level evidence to inform policy and planning ahead of the next Education Sector Medium-Term Plan (2026–2029).
Key Findings Highlight Boys’ Vulnerability
The census identified 3,536 out-of-school children across 200 communities, with more than 70 per cent concentrated in the Upper East and Northern Regions. Notably, boys made up 59.9 per cent of the total out-of-school population, compared to 40.1 per cent for girls, signaling a reversal of earlier gender trends. Children aged 15 to 17 years accounted for over 40 per cent of all out-of-school cases, indicating rising dropout rates among older learners, particularly boys.
Executive Director of Eduwatch, Kofi Asare, attributed the trend to poverty, weak parental supervision, child labour, seasonal migration, and the growing influence of betting and gambling centres, which increasingly lure boys away from school in search of quick income.
Barriers Driving School Dropout
The census identified multiple, overlapping barriers to education, including:
Financial constraints and household poverty
Long distances to school
Inadequate educational infrastructure
Teacher shortages and lack of learning materials
Socio-cultural practices affecting attendance
Many households cited limited livelihood opportunities and seasonal migration as key factors behind school absenteeism, while school-level challenges continue to affect retention in deprived districts.
Eduwatch explained that the national convening was necessitated by the realization that existing education interventions were not sufficiently reaching the most deprived communities, underscoring the need for updated data to better align national and district-level responses.
Data for the census was collected in March 2025, using a mixed-method approach combining household censuses, community-level checklists, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions with education officials, parents, and community leaders. The findings were validated at a stakeholder workshop held at the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale on October 30, 2025.
Policy Gaps and Recommendations
Eduwatch raised concerns about weak alignment between district education planning and national OOSC interventions, resulting in gaps in targeting and sustainability. The organisation called for:
Increased government funding for Accelerated Education Programmes (AEPs) and Complementary Basic Education (CBE)
Stronger enforcement of by-laws to prevent children from loitering around gambling centres
Expansion of the School Feeding Programme to support attendance
District-specific action plans prioritising high-burden areas such as Nanumba South, West Mamprusi, and Bole
Enhanced collaboration among the Ministry of Education, GES, CEA, social protection agencies, and NGOs
Eduwatch said insights from the census will guide its ongoing engagements with the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, and the National Development Planning Commission, as Ghana prepares its next Education Sector Medium-Term Development Plan (2026–2029).
The organisation stressed that while progress has been made through initiatives such as the Complementary Basic Education Programme and the Ghana Education Outcomes Project, the data points to the urgent need for district-targeted, equity-focused interventions to reverse the growing out-of-school trend particularly among boys while sustaining gains in girls’ education.
