“Students are not even regular in schools in mining communities [these days] because they see that engaging in galamsey [illegal mining] brings them immediate money, far more than they could imagine as students, and this is affecting teaching and learning in the schools,” the President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbonu has said.

According to him students are abandoning school to engage in these illegal activities, lured by the promise of immediate financial gain.

Speaking in a radio interview with Accra-based Citi FM on Tuesday [September 17], Mr. Carbonu expressed concern over the negative impact of galamsey on education.

Mr. Carbonu also pointed to the difficulty of addressing the galamsey problem, citing the involvement of powerful political figures who benefit from the practice. 

“The beneficiaries of this illegal mining are political persons who have the means to purchase machines and employ the youth to engage in the destruction of our environment,” he said.

The NAGRAT President urged the government to ban all forms of small-scale mining, particularly in sensitive areas such as water bodies and forest reserves. 

He also called for the immediate cessation of issuing licenses for gold prospecting.