Influence of teacher absenteeism and school distance on cognitive skills in Ghana

Cognitive skills are important predictors of academic success and wellbeing in adulthood. Unfortunately, the cognitive skills of many students in Ghana and other African countries are seriously lagging behind global mean estimates. This study examined the influence of teacher absenteeism and travel distance to school on the cognitive skills of school children between 5 and 15 years of age in Ghana. Dataset for the analysis were derived from the first and second waves of the Ghana Socioeconomic Panel Survey conducted by the Economic Growth Center, Yale University. The study finds that teacher absenteeism and distance to school are detrimental to cognitive skills development.