The Ghana School Library Initiative

Vital Stats

Mohit A

Princeton, NJ

  • people helped450
  • People Doing It 20

The Problem

Of late, there has been a lot of political and economic reform in Ghana. Nevertheless, there are significant problems present and among these the most pressing challenge is that millions of Ghanaian children lack access to quality education. According to the World Bank, in Ghana: 1. Only 72% of children attend primary school. This means that more than a quarter of children will receive no formal education in their lifetimes. 2. Only 60% of primary school teachers are trained. Untrained teachers are especially prevalent in rural districts. 3. Ghanaian children have little access to computers and information technology in schools or elsewhere. Although the problem of access to quality education is widespread across both rural and urban Ghana, education is perhaps most derelict in the slums of Accra. Yet after talking with teachers, administrators, and students in and around Accra, EWB – Princeton believes that there are two facets of education, which can be improved upon immediately: English language fluency and digital literacy. English is nominally an official language of Ghana, but outside of the wealthiest neighborhoods of Accra, it is not the lingua franca. Most Ghanaians do not know English, and the system for teaching students English in Ghanaian schools is broken. Without more English-fluent citizens, Ghana will be left out of the international academic and business arenas. Likewise, digital literacy is virtually non-existent. Computers are nearly universally absent from homes and uncommon in schools. Moreover, because teachers themselves know little about computers, students who do have access to computers in school still don’t gain digital fluency. Internet connections are far and few between, and can cost hundreds of dollars a month. We have decided to build our first digital library at the E.P. Basic Elementary and Junior Secondary School in Ashaiman, outside of Accra. We expect that our first library, when completed in the summer of 2009, will help around 450 students a year learn English and develop computer skills.

Plan of Action

In the summer of 2008, two students traveled to Ghana under the aegis of the Pace Center for Civic Engagement at Princeton to study slum conditions around Accra and to develop a concrete proposal for action. The assessment trip was successful – the group developed a solid concept to improve education. The summer 2008 assessment trip has also resulted in many good contacts at schools, universities, non-profits and corporations across Accra. Students at the Aseshi University College have indicated that they would like to work with EWB-Princeton in implementing our project in Ghana. Our team is also working with the Osu Children’s Library Fund, a Canadian non-profit that has a history of building libraries in Ghana. Lastly, the mangers of the firm Volta Reality have pledged their help with our project. To address the issues identified during the assessment trip, EWB-Princeton has developed the concept of a digital library. Our ‘digital library’ is a physical library unit that provides students and teachers with access to computers and English language books. The library will have a collection of a few hundred English books, supplement by 5-10 computers. The computers are the key to the library. EWB-Princeton is the process of designing specific software programs and interfaces that will allow students to explore a wide variety of information sources on these computers. The vast majority of the information stored in our library will not be in print form but in digital form, and our software interface will make that information easily available. We will also make many educational games available, allowing students to both learn and have fun simultaneously. Another important component of our project is the wide range of educational programming that EWB-Princeton will develop for the library including a multi-week training program for teachers that provides training for the computers and the other library functions. Our digital libraries will be built and operated in partnership with local schools. After building a library, EWB-Princeton will provide technical assistance to schools and will conduct follow-up assessments to ensure that the libraries are fully and appropriately utilized.
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