School Enrolment Patterns in Rural Ghana: a comparative study of the impact of location, gender, age and health on children's access to basic schooling

The aim of this article is to discuss the results fi om three censuses cond ucted on school age children in rural Ghana which reveal contemporary patte rns in enrolment. The data provide a profile of the school age population i n basic education and contribute novel quantitative data on children out of school. The article eh-amines the age at first enrolment, the gender dispa rities between classes, the classes where children drop out, and the propor tion of children who never enrol in school. The stark contrast in enrolment between the disadvantaged north and the south of the country is also confi rmed Qualitative data from focus group discussions with parents, teachers a nd children highlight the major obstacles confronting education-these inclu de a diversity of factors such as child labour, health, location and gender . Suggestions of policy options needed to increase access and attainment to schooling include reducing the over-age entry, increasing female access an d participation, adapting culturally sensitive strategies, collecting bette r statistical data, improving the health of school age children and lesseni ng the gap between the north and south of the country.