Causes and Effects of Illegal Gold Mining (Galamsey) Activities on School Dropout and Residents at the Tutuka Central Circuit in Obuasi Municipality in Ashanti Region, Ghana
Abstract:Illegal gold mining activities contribute tremendously to the local economy of the communities within which the practice is conducted. Despite such developments, its activities come with several environmental, economic, developmental and societal and educational challenges that governments, environmentalists, and educationalists have fought several decades to overcome. The study sought to examine the effect of illegal gold mining operations on school dropout. A sample size of 102 participants was selected for … Show more
“…These narratives came from 42% of the study participants, of which 32% came from Simpa and Essaman, suggesting the situation is grimmer in these two communities relative to others. Paralleling findings reported by Azumah et al (2020) in Tutuka Central Circuit of Obuasi Municipality in Ghana, a 61‐year‐old participant at Essaman said this: Many parents through no fault of theirs got their entire household involved in the galamsey activity. Sadly, children who should be in school are often engaged in galamsey pits to support their parents to make money for the family’s upkeep.…”
Discourses on “illegal” or informal small‐scale mining (galamsey) have presented it largely as a menace. Using Ghana as the focus of our study, we present a counter‐narrative to the predominant discourse. Employing qualitative in‐depth interviews with 193 local galamsey operators, the study found that economic factors coupled with the combative posture of state regulatory agencies explain the persistence of illegal activity. Although galamsey is not problem‐free, the study revealed it is the livelihood support base of such communities, providing jobs and incomes to many households. Since mineral‐rich local communities, at least, in part, depend on galamsey, the state and its regulatory agencies could collaboratively work with local agencies and mineral‐rich communities to fully exploit the hidden treasures in galamsey while reducing the proximate negative effects.
“…These narratives came from 42% of the study participants, of which 32% came from Simpa and Essaman, suggesting the situation is grimmer in these two communities relative to others. Paralleling findings reported by Azumah et al (2020) in Tutuka Central Circuit of Obuasi Municipality in Ghana, a 61‐year‐old participant at Essaman said this: Many parents through no fault of theirs got their entire household involved in the galamsey activity. Sadly, children who should be in school are often engaged in galamsey pits to support their parents to make money for the family’s upkeep.…”
Discourses on “illegal” or informal small‐scale mining (galamsey) have presented it largely as a menace. Using Ghana as the focus of our study, we present a counter‐narrative to the predominant discourse. Employing qualitative in‐depth interviews with 193 local galamsey operators, the study found that economic factors coupled with the combative posture of state regulatory agencies explain the persistence of illegal activity. Although galamsey is not problem‐free, the study revealed it is the livelihood support base of such communities, providing jobs and incomes to many households. Since mineral‐rich local communities, at least, in part, depend on galamsey, the state and its regulatory agencies could collaboratively work with local agencies and mineral‐rich communities to fully exploit the hidden treasures in galamsey while reducing the proximate negative effects.
“…because the Municipality is made up of gold mining communities where student absenteeism has been reported to be high (Azumah, Baah, & Nachinaab, 2021). There was the need to examine the relationship between school attendance (absenteeism) and academic performance of this special population of students (i.e.…”
Section: Relationship Between Attendance and Academic Performance Amo...mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…According to research, absenteeism is a major issue in schools (Azumah et al, 2021). Prakesh et al ( 2017),…”
Section: Relationship Between Attendance and Academic Performance Amo...mentioning
Participation in sports is a topic that has gained considerable attention over the years. While many scholars argue that sports participation results in high academic output among student-athletes, others contended that it decreases academic performance. There is another school of thought that has established that participation in sports promote absenteeism. Despite these discussions, there is a gap in the literature on the relationship between absenteeism and academic performance among student-athletes particularly in a developing country like Ghana. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between absenteeism and academic performance among 203 student-athletes in two public senior high schools in the Obuasi Municipality of Ghana. A census was employed to gather data from all the student-athletes who were in form three and form two. A generated form that solicits student-athletes end of semester results in the core subjects English, Mathematics, Integrated Science, and Social studies, and attendance for two semesters was the main instrument used to gather the data. Data was analysed using percentages and correlation. The results showed that student-athletes attendance to classes was high and their academic performance was also good. The results further revealed that the academic performance of the student-athletes is linked to their class attendance. It is recommended that the management of senior high schools and other stakeholders within the Obuasi Municipality should find ways of encouraging students to participate in school sports and attend classes regularly since that might improve their academic performance.
“…In their repeated documentation of the dynamics of artisanal and small-scale mining activities in Ghana, Hilson and Potter (2003:237) questioned why the "illegal gold mining activity is so ubiquitous in rural Ghana". In spite of the fact that Hilson and Potter's work has stayed through a decade and more (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019)(2020)(2021), we still find this question useful-from 2003 up to date, illegal mining (galamsey) operations have grown enormously across the length and breadth of Ghana, with mixed implications (Azumah et al, 2020). The northern part of Ghana, including the Upper West Region which hitherto was precluded in galamsey discussions because of the absence of galamsey activities in this half of the country, has recorded massive illegal mining activities in recent times (Agyemang and Okoto, 2014;Laari et al, 2016;Baddianaah et al, 2021a).…”
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