Playgrounds in schools: Requirement or luxury?

“Cling Cling Cling… break time please!’’ Those who are familiar with this popular school bell that rings to call pupils for break would testify to the nostalgia it comes with. When the bell rang, one literally ran out of the classroom to the field. The school field was a place where we could easily express ourselves while bonding with our mates. The playground was a symbol of autonomy for us.

In recent years, however, playgrounds in schools have shrunk in size to the point where some schools do not have them at all. This phenomenon is especially prevalent in cities and urban centres.

“Land is very expensive here in Accra”, lamented a private school proprietor, Mr Owusu Emmanuel. “It must be said that a playground is the last thing you would want to consider in allocating space for various activities of the school.”

Land in the city of Accra has become more limited due to the mania to construct stores and the rising real estate operations and its related economic activities. The fad to construct concrete jungles also make land in the city very expensive. Open spaces, such as, some portions of markets, lorry parks, community centers, and football fields are rapidly being purchased to be converted to landed fixtures and some playgrounds of basic schools have not been spared this craze.

“We had an open space for students to play but after COVID-19, there was a ban on social gatherings in schools”, a school owner, Jennifer Oppong complained. She added that they used that as an opportunity to start a creche on the land designated for playing.

“There was no basic school in my new neighbourhood so I started one in my home, explained another proprietor in Ashaley Botwe, Adelaide Kubi. Unfortunately, although the school population keeps increasing, I don’t have enough space for the expansion. Why do I have to bother about where these children will play?”
The owner of a recently opened school in Haatso, Mr Yaw Anokye, told a similar story. He added that since the Haatso-Atomic stretch has grown increasingly commercial, the cost of rent and land has increased dramatically. "Yeah, it was time to cash out”.

The retired educator claimed, "I leased a section of the land to an organisation and it turned out some decent money. Many schools have opened up, and it will take some time to establish a certain demography in order to generate some money."

Like many others, Mrs Comfort Obeng, who owns a school at New Achimota said, she began her school in her home so she originally could not have space for a playground and this has been the case for over twenty years”

Meanwhile, the Ghana Education Service has a policy which indicates that playgrounds are key components required prior to setting up Basic School where the developmental stage of every child begins. Play activities, according the Service are equally important on the curriculum. Has this crucial element of a child's growth been compromised in favour of land grab and commercial interests?

A basic six pupil, Nana Yaw Ansong, believes that the amount of space available in his school is not enough to serve the entire school population, so it is only when a class has a period for physical education that students are allowed on the pitch. “We only have practical sessions of our Physical Education (PE) on my school playground”, he remarked.

Talents are unveiled on the playgrounds just as they are discovered in the classrooms. When pupils have had a long time learning in the classroom, the playground is that refreshing space in which they can release their stress and reboot for the rest of the lessons in class.

Teachers

Teachers on the other hand hold different views on the subject. While a public school teacher, Madam Doris Ofoe, sees it as an extra responsibility, where teachers would have to monitor and prevent these students from injury, a private school teacher, Madam Leticia Nsiah said it is a selling point for her school to provide the platform for pupils to unearth their talents. She further admits the fascinating things her pupils put up during these free periods on the playgrounds.

For her part, Madam Ofoe said that she sometimes prevented her Basic Three pupils from attending the second break simply because the compound was not secured and a lot of injuries were recorded during these periods.

A parent, Mr Emmanuel Amponsah, recalled, "my children attend a sort of home school with a small compound and anytime we are enroute to their school we pass by this school with a vast complex with see-saws, merry-go-round, and others, my oldest daughter will always tell me how much she likes the school and wants to go there when we get there. I've thought about sending her there several times”.

Implications

The gradual diminishing presence of playgrounds in schools may have more implications than imagined.

A Physical Therapist of the Nadkof Physiotherapy, Christine Edjeodji, opines that playgrounds are a place where pupils engage in games that further boost their cognitive, relational and soft skills. “If pupils are kept in the classroom all the time, more credence will be given to the saying, “all work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy”, she added.

Head of Training and Capacity Building at Child Rights International, Elizabeth Korkor Okletey said, “One of the rights of children is to play. So, when we allow them to engage in such activities, we are giving them the opportunity to nurture their skills and also allowing them to enjoy their natural rights”.

She further admonished schools without playing fields to engage in activities, such as, arts and crafts to keep the children active and creative, particularly in light of the introduction and implementation of the new curriculum, which is more activity-focused.

“Priority should, therefore, be given to constructing playgrounds that are functional, multipurpose, and spacious in schools. Teachers should not only restrict pupils to the classroom, but give them the freedom as appropriate to use the playgrounds where they are available.”

The writer is an MA student of the School of Communication Studies,
University of Ghana