A disturbing trend is emerging in the Talensi District of Ghana’s Upper East Region, where increasing numbers of girls aged 13 to 16 are abandoning school to cohabit with illegal miners, performing domestic duties akin to marriage.
According to a report put together by Asaase News, Education officials are raising red flags as school enrollment and attendance, especially at the Junior High School level, continue to fall sharply in galamsey-affected areas.
“These girls are cohabiting with young boys and older miners at the sites, cooking, cleaning, and in many cases, becoming pregnant,” said Christiana Azure Ayinzoya, Talensi’s District Director of Education, in an interview with Asaase News.
“By the time we trace some of them, they are already pregnant or have dropped out completely.”
Boys are also abandoning classrooms to chase quick money in the mines, often disappearing after registering for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), only to be disqualified later due to absenteeism.
In 2023 alone, seven girls wrote the BECE while pregnant. Though Ghana’s re-entry policy allows pregnant students to return to school, many never do, overwhelmed by poor attendance, academic setbacks, and the allure of mining income.
Efforts to retrieve these children from mining camps have been slow and complex. “Sometimes we negotiate with the men they’re living with,” Ayinzoya revealed. “We just want them back in school.”
Even when some girls return, the impact of lost classroom time lingers. “We register them for exams, but many are unprepared. They’ve spent the year in mining pits, not in school,” she added.
Talensi’s academic performance reflects this struggle—though the BECE pass rate improved from 26 to 46 percent under Ayinzoya’s leadership, it still remains below 50.
Family dynamics are also shifting. Some children return home with food and cash from mining work, undermining parental authority. “They bring noodles and money. Parents can’t compete,” she noted. “Discipline is collapsing, and poverty is robbing families of control.”
Ayinzoya warns that while illegal mining may offer quick gains, it robs children of lasting opportunity. “Gold doesn’t reproduce. Education is the only investment that never expires.”
She is calling for urgent action—from tackling illegal mining to strengthening community and parental support—to prevent a generational crisis in Talensi.
