Undeniably, education remains one of the most powerful tools for reducing poverty and promoting sustainable economic growth. This belief is firmly captured in Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education), which calls for inclusive, equitable, and accessible education for all.
Yet, in Ghana, for many schoolchildren, daily realities make this goal difficult to achieve.
Challenges such as dilapidated classrooms, inadequate teaching and learning resources, and inadequate parental support are often highlighted.
In recent times, however, a less discussed but equally damaging barrier has emerged: a broken public transport system that undermines children’s ability to access education safely and consistently.
Some children leave home as early as 5 a.m. just to arrive at school on time. Chronic sleep deprivation seems to have become normalised. But should children be blamed for circumstances beyond their control?
I have witnessed parents and children struggling to secure transport in the early hours of the morning. Even more troubling is the number of children who commute unaccompanied.
These scenes raise serious concerns about the impact of poor transport which extends into the classroom. Learners fall asleep on buses, in lessons, and even during break times while their peers are playing.
Sadly, exhaustion is sometimes misread as laziness. Instead of empathy, some children are punished and made to stand throughout lessons, worsening fatigue and weakening concentration.
This directly undermines learning outcomes and contradicts the spirit of effective learning environments.
Some single parents, lacking support systems, are compelled to enrol their children in schools closer to their workplaces rather than their homes. While this eases drop-offs, it forces children to wake up far earlier than necessary. Others, who can afford it, send their children to perceived better schools far from home.
In Accra and other major cities, traffic congestion can last two hours or more. To beat traffic, families leave home at dawn, compromising children’s health, rest, and emotional well-being.
One school child noted “We leave home around 4:30am because our house is far and there’s always traffic. If we delay, we’ll be marked late,” .
A parent added “I start work by 6 a.m.,” one mother explained. “If I don’t leave early, I’ll lose my job. So I wake the children up before 4:30 so they can walk together. It’s not safe, but there’s no other way.”( myjoyonline.com, 2025)
Transport fares
Beyond physical exhaustion lies the issue of cost. Overcharging by some transport operators has become commonplace. Passengers who resist inflated fares are left stranded. For children from low-income households, paying extra fares can mean missing school entirely. In such cases, education is no longer a right but a privilege.
Learner safety
Safety is another major concern. Financial constraints force some parents to rely on poorly maintained vehicles. Even school buses, where available, may be overloaded, poorly supervised, or expensive. These risks conflict with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), which seeks to ensure safe and healthy lives for all.
The emotional and psychological strain placed on children and parents is immense. Without intervention, education risks becoming a daily struggle rather than a pathway to opportunity.
For some learners, dropping out becomes a real consideration.
Striking driver unions
The situation worsens whenever transport unions embark on strike actions. Children from well-resourced households remain unaffected, while those who rely solely on public transport are excluded. This deepens educational inequality and exposes the fragility of systems meant to support the most vulnerable.
Past interventions, such as free rides on buses like the ‘Aayalolo’, have largely failed due to poor implementation and oversight. Children still stand from pick-up to drop-off points, paying the price for systemic inefficiencies.
If Ghana is serious about achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, then child-friendly, reliable, affordable, and safe transport must be treated as an education issue, not merely a transport one.
Who will rescue our future leaders from this daily transport mayhem?
By Henry Atta Nyame
Institutional Assessment practitioner
