Diminishing Poverty Rates in Guinea
By: Jiya Gupta
Tags: Farming, Education, Poverty, Guinea

Picture Credit: Rebecca Blackwell of AfricaMetro

Guinea, one of the poorest countries in Africa, holds 70% of its population under the poverty line [1]. While the simple solution could be providing its children with education, Guinea has neither the infrastructure nor money for proper education. The burden of education then falls on individual families who have almost nothing to give for their children’s education, thus leaving half Guinea’s population uneducated [1]. In fact, an estimated 73% of Guinea’s children work a job to support their family rather than going to school [2].

Before the government can spend on Guinea’s education, it’s crucial for them to increase their budget. This can be done by increasing agricultural output. Guinea’s resources such as plentiful water and rich farmland, better than that of most African countries, can be used to their advantage [3]. Instead of using this as an advantage, Guinea farmers own small pieces of land only enough to feed themselves and their families [4]. Because of lack of infrastructure and farming technology, Guinea is unable to reach their farming potential. To fix this problem, Guinea’s government would need to sell its big pieces of government-owned land [5] to the upper class, providing a “substantial discount” if the land is bought for farming; the government would need to increase the price of the land used for anything besides farming. After upper class families buy the land, they will hire workers to farm on it, thus increasing the efficiency. This system would be similar to the farming system in Britain prior to the Industrial Revolution. The government should also set up a reward system for farming technology inventions to speed up advancements in farming, thus increasing output and minimizing input. By increasing farming output, the government would not only receive more money but also increase citizen’s income and provide jobs to the jobless. With the newly earned money, the government would be able to make the following reforms to Guinea’s education system:

School Infrastructure: School should be set up every 20 miles in urban areas and every 40 miles in rural areas. The government holds the responsibility of appointing officials to monitor the infrastructure and curriculum of every school. Officials should meet every six months to bring up any issues in schooling. Primary and Secondary schooling should be free to all residents. Any necessary changes to schooling or reallocation of funds proposed by school staff needs to be approved by school officials. Colleges/Universities should be priced on family income: the poorer the family, the less they should be required to pay. Teacher Qualifications:

Teachers must pass a government-mandated test in order to teach at schools. Primary School teachers are required to have received education until the end of secondary school. Secondary School teachers are required to have received primary and secondary school education, along with completing at least three years of college. The school should appoint staff to periodically check if teachers know necessary content and are teaching students well. Class Curriculum

Primary and Secondary school curriculum should match that of most countries. Classes such as history, for acceptance of different cultural backgrounds; chemistry, for vaccinations; health, for importance of hygiene, should be included within the school curriculum. Student Support

At least two certified student counselors should be appointed in every school. These counselors play the role of decreasing bullying, discrimination, and harassment within the school. Student classes should meet their counselor once every two weeks for a fun activity, so they can get comfortable with their counselors. Counselors should also advise students of what fields they would like to pursue. Many students have a hard time deciding, end up taking the wrong courses, and dropping out of college. Counselors should have knowledge.

With increased access to education and more economic output, Guinea economy will bloom.

Sources:

1: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. “A Major Overhaul of TheGuinea-Bissau Education System Is Well Overdue.” Unesdoc.unesco.org, Nov. 2016, unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000247043.

2: “Children of Guinea.” Humanium, 4 Apr. 2019, www.humanium.org/en/guinea/.

3: Republique de Guinee. Sector Overview: Agriculture . 2020, https://www.invest.gov.gn/page/agriculture-2#:~:text=Guinea's%20agricultural%20sector%20has%20great,investments%20with%20high%20added%20value.

4: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. “FAO.org.” Guinea | Integrated Production and Pest Management Programme in Africa | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2020, www.fao.org/agriculture/ippm/projects/guinea/en/.

5: LandLinks. Guinea. 21 June 2018, www.land-links.org/country-profile/guinea/.