International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |Volume VI, Issue X, October 2022|ISSN 2454-6186

Examining Effect of Illegal Small-Scale Mining (Galamsey) on the Education of Junior High School Students in the Kibi Township

Paul Williams Obeng¹, Derrick Nii Quarcoopome Sackey²*, Albert Bekoe Mensah^3
1,³Department of Social Sciences, SDA College of Education, Koforidua, Ghana
²Department of Languages, SDA College of Education, Koforidua, Ghana
*Corresponding Author

Abstract: The objectives of the study are to examine the extent to which junior high school students engage in illegal small-scale mining activities in the Kibi Township, Ghana and determine the effects of illegal small-scale mining activities on the education of junior high school students in the Kibi Township, Ghana. The study was a descriptive survey. The researchers used the stratified random sampling procedure to sample sixty respondents from four junior high schools in the Kibi Township, Ghana for the study. A closed-ended questionnaire was developed and administered to gather data for the study. The data gathered were analysed using descriptive statistics. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that junior high school students in the Kibi Township to a very large extent engaged in illegal small-scale mining activities. Also, it can be concluded that although small-scale mining activities are mostly considered illegal, it gives students who engage in it the opportunity to save some few coins towards their education. The study recommends that head teachers of Junior High Schools in the Kibi Township through their Schools’ Management Committees (SMC) ensure that students are taken through professional counselling services for them to appreciate the need for formal education.

Keywords: Education, Small-scale mining, Child labour, Student

I. INTRODUCTION

In tropical nations like Ghana, mining is one of the most important forms of natural resource extraction (Yaro, 2010). The widespread reporting of forest destruction, habitat loss, and biodiversity loss as a result of mining activities (Majer, 2013). Even with a secured permit, mining is considered illegal when done without a permit, in prohibited areas like forest reserves, game reserves, or close to water sources (World Bank Group Department, 2002). In Ghana, illegal mining is referred to as “galamsey” locally, and media coverage of it has raised public awareness of the harm that it is thought to have done to water resources and forest cover. According to Tschakert (2009), between 300,000 and 500,000 artisanal miners in Ghana have worked without a permit or illegally since 1989, bringing in an estimated $461.1 million for the country’s economy. Consequently, the artisanal and small-scale mining sector, whose operations are largely categorized as illegal, makes a considerable contribution to mining earnings (Hilson, 2001).

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