Migration, Education And The Carrying Capacity Of The Krobo Districts: Reflections Of An Emerging Migration Scholar (Part I)

Somanya Township by Leylaimages

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The Krobo enclave in the Eastern Region of the Republic of Ghana is gradually becoming an exceptional citadel of higher education, training, and scientific innovations. This observation is based on the number of institutions of higher learning that have been established by the government of Ghana, some religious bodies, and civil society organizations within the Krobo Districts in recent years. Certainly, education is the bedrock of all progressive societies and flourishing economies. The education and training policy reforms under the constitution of the fourth republic have triggered the establishment of a number of Universities, Colleges, and Senior High Schools in the Krobo area. The tall list provided is some of the education and training institutions that are located in the Krobo Districts. They include; University for Environment and Sustainable Development, Ensign College of Public Health, Mount Mary College of Education, the Nursing and Midwifery Training College at Krobo Odumase, and the Trinity International Bible University. The rest are Yilo Krobo Senior High School, Somanya Senior High Technical School, Apersua Community Day Senior High School, Klo-Agogo Senior High School, Legacy Girls Senior High School, Akuse Methodist Senior High School, Akro Senior High Technical School, Manya Krobo Senior High School, Saint Ann Vocational Institute, King David Commercial College, Asesewa Senior High School, and Obenyemi Community Day Senior High School. The professional capacity building institutions also include the Henry Djaba Business School and EHT Korboe Center for Leadership and Governance Studies. Aside from these institutions listed above, the Cape Coast University and the University of Education, Winneba is also vigorously running teaching campuses for their respective Centers for Open and Distance Education in the area in full capacity. The University of Ghana also has well established and equipped Agricultural Research Station for legumes, cereals, and grains in the area.

Indeed, this narrative appears unassuming or harmless from afar but has the propensity to bring about an unprecedented increase in the population of the Krobo Districts within the shortest possible time. If education truly has an intrinsic capacity to trigger both internal and international migration and general mobility of students, education and construction workers, and other auxiliary services providers then the emerging situation in the Krobo Districts deserves unwavering attention by scientific research institutions, policymakers, and policy implementation agencies. The main objective of this article is, therefore, to examine the capacity of Krobo Districts to effectively carry the possible exponential increase in the population expected to be triggered by the location of Universities, Colleges, professional capacity building institutions, and Senior High Schools in the area. This article wants to establish with empirical evidence the capacity of Krobo Districts to provide the basic necessities of urban living which include – decent accommodation, transportation services, healthcare delivery, food and nutrition, security and personal protection, portable drinking water, and reliable electricity supply at sufficient quantities and at affordable prices to meet the demands of the natives of the land and expected migrants to be pulled in by the aforementioned institutions of education and training. The outcome and recommendations of this work will undoubtedly help policymakers, government agencies in the education sector, local government and rural development actors, business and investment community and chieftaincy institutions to be abreast with the realities on the ground and be more focused or pragmatic in their approach in managing the expected increase in the population of the Krobo Districts.

Obviously, the reader of this article might be wondering about the exact geopolitical precinct of the Republic of Ghana being referred to as the Krobo Districts. In line with the decentralization and local government structures of Ghana, the Krobo enclave is made up of Yilo Krobo Municipality with Somanya as its capital, Lower Manya Krobo Municipality, and Upper Many Krobo District also with Krobo Odumase and Asesewa as their capitals respectively. It will be useful to add for the purposes of clarification that Yilo and the Manya Krobo States are part of the Ga-Dangme major ethnic group in Ghana. The other traditional areas that constitute Ga-Dangme ethnic groups are; Ada, Ningo, Prampram, Shai, Osudoku, Agortsom, Kpone, Tema, Nungua, Teshie, La, Osu, Ngleshie Alata, Gamashie, and Obutu (CGDDC, 2019). The Yilo and Manya Krobo people are the only Dangme language speaking tribes in the entire eastern region of Ghana. The Krobo Districts share boundaries with Shai-Osudoku, Okre, New Juaben, Abuakwa North, Fanteakwa, Kwahu North, Asuogyman Districts, and the Volta Lake (GSS, 2010).

The Krobo people are well known and highly revered for their unique expertise in cash crop farming, bead making and artisanal works, and general trading. Substantial acres of Ghana’s mango, cocoa, and oil palm plantations even those located in the Akyem, Kwahu, Wassa, Adansi, Ashanti, Assin, Akwapim, Denkyira, and Twifo areas were cultivated and owned by the people of Krobo land (Narh, 2017). Talk about highly intelligent, innovative, and hardworking human resources, and the Krobo are equally not found wanting. Great achievers like Erasmus Ranxford Tawiah Madjitey, who became Ghana’s first Commissioner of Police (now Inspector General of Police) at age 38, Hon. Seth Terkper, former Minister of Finance in the John Mahama administration, Professor Felix Israel Domeno Konotey-Ahulu, Ghanaian Physician and Scientist, Professor Joseph Kofi Teye, Director, Center for Migration Studies at the University of Ghana, Thomas Partey of Arsenal Football Club in the UK, Hon. Boakye Agyarko, former Minister for Energy, Hon. Otiko Afisa Djaba former Minister of Gender and social protection Ministry, Dr. Mrs. Joyce Akumaa Dingotey-Padi, a broadcast journalist with the Multimedia group, Queen Asabea Cropper, one of the pioneers of Ghana’s highlife music, Professor Sarah Opai Tetteh, Dean of the Graduate School at University of Cape Coast, Nene Davies Narh Korboe, Ghana’s overall National Best Farmer for 2009 and Hon. Tetteh Djornobuah, Member of Parliament for Sefwi Akontombra Constituency are just mention a few of the sons and daughters of the great Krobo land worth mentioning.

Dear valued reader, I would like to humbly invite you to look forward to the Part II of this article which will review the Ghana Statistical Service reports on the Krobo Districts, the past composite budgets, and development plans of the various assemblies in the Krobo Districts. This will give us a fair idea of strategies that have been designed to contain this situation and what must be done going forward.

Francis Opai Tetteh

Holistic Migration Consult