CHALLENGING THE TRADITIONAL STRATAGIES, RETHINKING HOLISTIC APROACHES.

CHALLENGING THE TRADITIONAL STRATAGIES, RETHINKING HOLISTIC APROACHES.

INTRODUCTION

The present generation of Ghanaian youth face many difficult challenges in their development into adults than ever before. From participation in political violence to armed robbery, and drugs and alcohol abuse to lack of employment in an unforgiving economy.

Obviously, factors affecting the quality of life of our youth and their ability to reach their full potentials are now multifaceted and challenging than in the past. The structural adjustment programs introduced in the last two decades have significantly altered the structure of our economy. Service sector employment, which has increased over the years, has compelled massive influx of youth from the rural areas into towns and cities in search of non-existing jobs.

Rural-Urban migration has also significantly changed the traditional kinship structure that provided nurturance, safe places and mentors young people need to be socially, emotionally, ethically, physically and academically competent. With the breakdown of the traditional family structure or the inability of the traditional family system to act as the agent for the transmission and renewal of socio-cultural values, it is imperative to design youth development programs and education system, which compensates for the erosion of our traditional youth development systems.

This article focuses on shifting the headlines in Ghana from youth problems to youth development. Additionally, this article argues that while possession of skills measured by pen and paper tests and ability to solve intellectual puzzles are rewarding, academic skills alone are not enough- acquisition of full range of competencies such as civic, vocational, emotional, cultural, physical, ethical and social competencies are instrumental for our youth to become independent and productive citizens.

We call for a new/renewal of efforts to develop youth programs to complement the formal educational system to enrich the content and the context of learning for our young people. By focusing on academics skills alone as our educational system does, skews resources in one developmental domain. This denies our young people the comprehensive tools/skills they need to develop into productive and disciplined adults.

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