Formal education rarely reaches pastoral communities. Schools usually promote the values and practices of dominant cultures and do not prioritise the needs of marginalised populations. In African states with significant numbers of pastoral and other nomadic groups, there are calls for education to cater for this sector – on political, environmental, economic and health-related grounds. There is considerable pressure for pastoral education to be institutionalised but could there be a non-formal and community-based alternative?

The Shepherd School Programme (SSP) has been providing non-formal education (NFE) in seven pastoral communities in northern Ghana since 1996. SSP was established by the British non-governmental organisation ActionAid, and aims to provide basic education to children from isolated and marginalised communities, to equip them with basic literacy and numeracy skills and to provide a bridge to the formal school system.

SSP can be considered as ‘formal’ education in terms of curriculum and daily school organisation. Pastoral children follow the same syllabus and are graded like other Ghanaian school children. What makes SSP different is that school schedules are flexible. A community management body works to accommodate education needs with the shifting requirements of communities for help with farming and shepherding. Local facilitators mediate between teachers and families. Due to high teacher turnover in northern Ghana, local members who have some secondary education have been recruited and are serving as facilitators. Unlike elsewhere in Ghana, the local language is used at the early stages of schooling.

Interviews with pupils, their families, teachers and local authorities showed that:

• SSP has given a second chance for children who are otherwise denied any opportunity to attend school.
• Parents previously worried about the safety of children walking long distances to school. They now are reassured by the physical location of SSP in their communities: time saved can be used productively to enhance livelihoods.
• Collaborative learning among children, parents, teachers and facilitators has been fostered.
• Schooling is child-centred, including appropriate songs, folk tales and dramas.
• Health, sanitation and environmental protection messages are now being passed on by children to their families – this is evidenced by greater uptake of immunisation and action to drain stagnant water to deter mosquitoes.
• SSP has been a catalyst to promote democratic processes and has enabled women and children to participate in community decision-making.

As a result of SSP, children are more confident, want to continue their education and to obtain professional qualifications and are less inclined to leave home just to seek menial work in southern Ghana. They are generally regarded as dutiful and respectful to community elders.

Typically in this region of Ghana, the survival of pastoralism is under threat from environmental degradation and population pressures. Parents who used to regard schooling as a threat to traditional values, now view education as the only upward route for social and economic mobility within this environment. However, some have developed excessive ambitions for their children. There is a risk that a project which set out to improve agro-pastoral livelihoods could undermine them by encouraging a desire for government and town-based jobs.

SSP is now recognised as a suitable NFE best practice. Its ability to make classroom lessons relevant to village life while supporting community values has attracted national interest. As policy-makers rise to the challenges of achieving the goal of Education for All, they need to re-examine notions of ‘formal’ and ‘non-formal’ education and promote holistic all-inclusive learning.

Source(s):
‘Fostering educational participation in pastoral communities through non-formal education: the Ghanaian perspective’ International Journal of Educational Development, 23, pp 661-677, by Obed Mfum-Mensah 2003
‘Exploring the constraints affecting non-formal basic education programs: The Shepherd School program in Northern Ghana’ In Focus Journal, Vol.1, by Obed Mfum-Mensah 2003 Full document.

Funded by: International Research and Development Centre (IDRC), Canada and logistical support from ActionAid Ghana

id21 Research Highlight: 15 June 2004

Further Information:
Obed Mfum-Mensah
303-1255 Huron Street
London
Ontario N5Y 4L8
Canada

Tel: +1 519 457 3160
Contact the contributor: omfummen@hotmail.com

Other related links:
'Moving in the right circles? Healthcare access for nomadic women'

'Herd instinct? A better deal for African pastoralists'

'Education provision to nomadic pastoralists: a literature review'

'Nigeria's Experiment with A National Programme for Nomadic Education' from ODI

'Educating nomadic herders out of poverty?: culture, education and poverty in Turkana and Karamoja'

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