Disability and Education in Ghana: Intersections With Sex and Location

Abstract

Disability is one of the least studied forms of vulnerability. Disability–education connections have often ignored important intersectionalities with sex and location. Using a 10 percent sample of the 2021 Ghana Population and Housing Census and an analytic sample of more than 2.2 million children and adults, this article, among other objectives, illustrates disability–education gaps by sex and location. There is an education gap of 4 percent for children with moderate disabilities and 12 percent for those with severe disabilities, compared to children without disabilities. Among adults, corresponding education gaps of 15 and 29 percent are present for moderate and severe disabilities, respectively. Regression results show that (1) the presence and severity of disability are associated with lower educational attainment; (2) the education “penalty” for girls and women as well as urban people with disabilities in Ghana is much higher than for their counterparts; (3) disability–education linkages also vary by specific disability conditions among children versus adults and by sex and location. Policy implications highlight the need to address consequential inequalities in poverty and welfare outcomes through targeted programs and interventions for women and other vulnerable people.