Builsa North gives pupils a seat in local planning with Children’s Assembly

The Builsa North Municipal Assembly in the Upper East Region has adopted a Children’s Assembly model that lets pupils debate local issues and put forward proposals for the district’s development plans.

According to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), reporting from Sandema, the municipal capital, pupils from 15 public and private schools took part in the rollout. Using the same debate and committee format as the district assembly, they raised concerns including a shortage of crèche and kindergarten facilities, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, child protection, healthcare, and water and sanitation.

The model is being run by the Centre for Learning and Childhood Development (CLCD Ghana) under the Engaging Policy Makers in Intersectoral Collaboration for Children (EPIC) project, funded by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research. The project runs from 2024 to 2029 in five Ghanaian assemblies and parts of Argentina, focusing on care and development for children up to age eight.

In a speech read on his behalf, CLCD Ghana Director Dr Kwame Sakyi said children’s participation in policy should be treated as a right, not a favour. He said children in similar programmes had asked for clean water, safe roads, street lights and places to play, which showed they were thinking about their whole community.

Municipal Chief Executive Solomon Akogti said the children’s resolutions would inform the Assembly’s medium-term development plan and its general assembly deliberations. He described children as part of the present, not only the future.

Timothy Aparagoa of the Builsa North Education Directorate called for the initiative to continue, while Upper East Regional Director of the Department of Children, Georgina Aberese-Ako, urged parents to spend more time playing with their children so they feel free to share their concerns.

Why it matters

District assemblies are now preparing their 2027–2030 medium-term plans. If the children’s proposals are reflected in Builsa North’s plan, the model could offer other Northern districts a practical way to involve young people in local decisions.

Source: Ghana News Agency — gna.org.gh