A growing number of children in northern Ghana are abandoning their education for illegal mining, known as ‘galamsey’, and betting, a situation Eduwatch has described as a looming education crisis.

Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) revealed that nearly 70 per cent of out-of-school children aged between 12 and 17 are dropping out, largely influenced by these activities.

Speaking on Channel One TV on Sunday, December 14, Eduwatch Executive Director, Kofi Asare, noted a significant change in the profile of children not attending school, compared to data from the 2021 Population and Housing Census.

“Earlier data showed that most out-of-school children were in the lower age brackets. However, the latest evidence suggests that children in the northern regions are increasingly leaving school as they get older,” he explained.

Mr. Asare emphasized that the issue wasn’t about initial enrolment challenges, but rather the pull of galamsey and betting on older children. “What we are now seeing in northern Ghana is that the older children become, the more likely they are to drop out of school,” he stated.

He further added that field research corroborated these findings, with galamsey – particularly in the Talensi area – and betting identified as major drivers of school dropouts, especially among boys aged 12 to 17. “Qualitative data from the field confirms the trend,” he said.

The revelations stem from an extensive Out-of-School Children Census conducted by Eduwatch across 20 districts in northern Ghana. The census aimed to provide localized data to help shape education policy and interventions.

According to the survey, males constitute the greater proportion of children not in school, with particularly high concentrations in the Chereponi, Nanumba South, Tatale Sanguli and Bawku West districts.

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