GirlZOffMute—Does the school you attend define your future in Africa?

DW (English)

In many parts of Africa, the gap between public and private schools goes beyond tuition — it shapes students’ futures. Public schools often struggle with overcrowding and limited resources, while private schools offer stronger facilities and programs, but are too expensive for most families. What can be done to close this divide? And honestly — is it even possible? #GirlZOffMute #The77percent

Transcript

00:00Two schools, two worlds, but one shared dream, education.

00:05Here in Africa, the journey of learning takes different paths,

00:08from crumbling classrooms to state-of-the-art facilities.

00:12The difference is huge, but how does the experiences compare?

00:17My name is Chelsea in Ghana.

00:23How do you get to school and how far do you travel every day?

00:27It's roughly 45 minutes to an hour.

00:30Sometimes I buy the car, sometimes I walk.

00:32Many girls across Africa face a lot of challenges when it comes to education.

00:37Sometimes it could be culture, sometimes teenage pregnancy, and early child marriage.

00:42Do you feel lucky to go to school?

00:44And how is the situation like for girls your age in your communities?

00:48I feel lucky because my parents really, really value education.

00:52But I also do have friends who don't go to school

00:54because their parents think the school isn't necessary to them.

00:57And also, too, some are pregnant and they can't send their pregnancy to school.

01:00So I feel lucky being in school.

01:02Share with me a typical day in your life.

01:04I mean, in the morning, so you see, how is it like?

01:07I wake up at 4.30.

01:09I have to sweep the compound, wash some dishes, then take my bath.

01:13After taking my bath, get my breakfast and set off to school.

01:16By 6.00, 6.30, I'm at school.

01:19School closes at 4.00.

01:20So by 4.30, I'm home.

01:22When I come back home, I have to help my parents in cooking

01:25and also to wash some dishes being used to eat.

01:28After that, study for an hour or 45 minutes, then go to bed.

01:32If you were to change one thing from your daily routine, what would they be?

01:35I would prefer doing less of washing of utensils.

01:38And also, too, I wish there would be a school bus where it would be at my door

01:41to take me to school in the morning and bring me back home

01:44because I hate walking to school each and every day.

01:47Having interacted with a girl in an urban school,

01:50do you see any differences between her and yourself?

01:53Yes, I have.

01:53And I really, really saw a lot of differences between her and me

01:57because I really, really like the part that she talked about,

02:00the facility she has in her school.

02:02An ultra-modern library where they go in to read storybooks

02:06and also to documentaries.

02:08But in my school, there's none.

02:10So I wish we had something like that that could improve our learning skills

02:14and also to improve our education.

02:22I would like to know about the things you like about your school

02:25and the things you don't like about SOS.

02:28SOS is a boarding slash academic school.

02:32So I like the hostile environment.

02:36However, I don't like the strict rules that they have in the school

02:40because I'm not able to act freely and do whatever I want.

02:44When it comes to the academics, I really like the whole curriculum,

02:48how you're able to be creative

02:50and foster your critical thinking skills, your leadership skills.

02:57However, it's quite stressful.

02:58Do you have any friends from other secondary schools?

03:02Yes.

03:03And do they tell you the experiences that they have in their schools

03:05compared to yours?

03:07Do you feel you are lucky?

03:08From what I've heard from them,

03:10they view our school as a very posh school.

03:13We have a lot of resources.

03:16But then I think academics is similar,

03:18but our workload seems to me, it seems to be more.

03:22I see students from other parts of Africa.

03:25How do you feel studying with them?

03:27Currently in my school, we have over 15 nationalities

03:31and the school is very Pan-African-focused.

03:34We're a Pan-African school.

03:36Our motto is Knowledge on the Surface of Africa.

03:38So we get to, we're very open-minded

03:40and we're very open-minded towards other people's cultures, values

03:44and what's, how they live and their lifestyles.

03:47Our school also, we have this thing called National Day,

03:53where you get to learn about various cultures,

03:56learn various dances, try various foods

03:58from different African countries

04:00and also other international countries.

04:03So it makes us very open-minded to the diverse community we have.

04:10Should we be worried about the gap in assessing education in Ghana?

04:14Yes, we have to be worried

04:15because it has a ripple effect on the quality of educational standards.

04:22Irrespective of the target we set for ourselves,

04:26the disparity in terms of resources,

04:30in terms of infrastructure

04:32and the other things you need for us to achieve these targets,

04:37indeed, we have to be worried.

04:40And you know, education is also tied to

04:42attainment of national growth and national development.

04:47And so if we are not able to address or break that gap in education

04:52in terms of provision of resources,

04:54what it means is that at a national level,

04:57the development that we have been talking about

05:01for far too long will not be able to achieve this

05:04and so we have to be worried about it.

05:06How soon do you think we can bridge this gap

05:08between the quality of education?

05:10What sort of collaboration can we have

05:13between the government on one side,

05:15the community leaders on the other side

05:17and then these non-governmental organisations

05:21also in the area of education?

05:25I think that's the way to go

05:27and that is how we must strategise

05:30in order to bridge this gap

05:32between provision of resources

05:34and then the inequality that exists in education.

05:39All right, no matter where we teenagers get our education,

05:43we deserve the best chance to succeed in life.

05:46Thanks so much for watching,

05:48but let's continue with this discussion

05:51on how to ensure education is more equal for all in Africa.

05:56My name is Chelsea in Ghana.

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