Covid-19 and school closure: Examining the impact on private mid-range and low-fee private basic schools in Ghana.
View / Open Files
Authors
Juvenile Ehwi, Lordina
Ehwi, Richmond Juvenile
Publication Date
2021-12-20Journal Title
Prospects (Paris)
ISSN
0033-1538
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Pages
1-18
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Juvenile Ehwi, L., & Ehwi, R. J. (2021). Covid-19 and school closure: Examining the impact on private mid-range and low-fee private basic schools in Ghana.. Prospects (Paris), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-021-09579-1
Abstract
The Covid-19 lockdown implemented globally to prevent the spread of the virus has led to the closure of schools. However, insight into the impact of the lockdown on private schools and the responses it has elicited is limited, especially across the African continent. This article examines the impact of the lockdown on private basic schools in Ghana and how they responded to the closure. Following "organizational ambidexterity" and qualitative interviews with nine proprietors of private schools in Ghana, the study found that the schools' closure had a negative impact on private basic schools in five crucial ways: disruption to teaching and learning, difficulty in retrieving unpaid teaching fees, inability to pay staff salaries and statutory payments, underutilization of existing assets, and the cost of storing unused stock. The article offers suggestions to the government to support private schools that are broadening educational access at thin profit margins.
Keywords
Covid-19, Ghana, Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Organizational ambidexterity, Private schools
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-021-09579-1
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/334208
Statistics
Total file downloads (since January 2020). For more information on metrics see the
IRUS guide.