In the West African country of Ghana, 98 percent of the country’s primary and secondary students are enrolled in school, but in some areas, a significant number do not attend classes regularly.

According to educators and government officials, poverty is the major reason Ghanaian students miss school a lot. Despite the country’s strong middle class, the average annual family income is only about $3,000 U.S. dollars. That means many students across Ghana live in grinding poverty and must help their families by working in the markets, on farms or on fishing boats instead of going to school

Read article by  at http://news.wypr.org/post/ghana-school-absenteeism-and-poverty-go-hand-hand#stream/