Abstract:
This study was designed to investigate the effects of rural–urban migration on the migrant children left behind.
A cross sectional study where data was collected using two structured questionnaires. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the study participants and these included eighty (80) children whose parents have migrated from the rural areas to the urban areas in Ghana and forty (40) Caregivers / relatives who attended to these children in the absence of their parents. Data on demographics, living arrangements, effects of migration on educational performance, psychological effects on children were collected from the children aged 15-17years.
The findings of this study show that in the Ghanaian context the effects of parental migration on children whether desirable or undesirable depends on other socio- economic factors- pull and push. Majority (50%) of both parents have migrated. Few fathers (10%) and 40% of mothers have migrated separately to the urban centres. Majority (71.25%) of the children said the absence of their parents does not deteriorate their academic performance. The care takers/relatives said though the migrants left because of lack of employment opportunities in the rural areas, they (migrants) are unable to send enough remittances for the upkeep of the children while 20% of the migrants do not send remittances at all home. It also came out that the income of the migrants has improved from 15% to 85 %.
From the findings of this study, it can be concluded that parental migration and the consequent parent-child separation do not necessarily affect the living arrangement, positioning and attendance of the children’s education adversely if the left-behind children are in the care of caregivers who provide them with the needed care and guidance. In view of this, the Ghanaian family values which encourage child care by all society and family members, and not just biological parents should be upheld and sustained. However, there is the need for care givers especially the educated ones to take the children education seriously by assisting them in their school assignments. Also, the care givers should monitor the children well by attitudes like high tempers, alcohol intake and decision making on their own which will help to know the challenges they face to support them early to avoid further problems.
