Walking to Learn: Head Teacher Highlights Struggles of Rural Learners

Head Teacher of Tepa-Bonkrom M/A Junior High School (JHS), Mr. Collins Kusi, has called attention to the struggles faced by learners who have to walk long distances from their villages to school in the Ahafo Ano North municipality.

In an exclusive interview with Opemsuo News Reporter, Nana Adeamuoduro Kwabena Agyei, Mr. Kusi shared that learners who walk long distances often arrive at school exhausted and miss important lessons, in addition to sleeping in class.

“Some learners have to cross rivers and streams and walk through bushes to get to school, which affects their cleanliness and in turn, their learning,” he added.

“I urge the government to establish primary schools near villages to provide education access to rural children. Parents must assist their children with household chores so that they can leave for school early and avoid the challenges of walking long distances to school.”

The challenges encountered by learners who walk long distances to school have persisted for a long time in several rural communities in Ghana, leading to a high dropout rate among children in rural areas.

Mr. Kusi’s call for the establishment of primary schools near villages is a welcome one, as it would help to improve education accessibility for children in rural areas and enable them to overcome the difficulties they face in getting to school.