A researcher behind a recent study that found thousands of Ghanaian pupils attend schools near contaminated sites says pollution may be having a bigger impact on children's learning than many policymakers realise.

The comments come after JoyNews earlier reported that about two million Ghanaian children attend schools within five kilometres of documented contaminated sites, according to the study Schools in the Shadow of Toxic Sites: Pollution Proximity in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Speaking to JoyNews’ Mahmud Mohammed-Nurudeen following the publication of the study, researcher Lee Crawfurd of the Centre for Global Development said evidence is increasingly pointing to pollution as a significant but often overlooked barrier to education in low- and middle-income countries.

For years, efforts to improve educational outcomes have focused on factors such as teacher training, class sizes and learning materials. But Crawfurd believes the environment surrounding schools deserves equal attention.

"Absolutely," he said when asked whether parents should be as concerned about the quality of the environment around schools as they are about the quality of education.

"We have done some previous research which has shown that lead poisoning in particular plays a really big role for children's learning."

According to Crawfurd, the impact may be far greater than many people assume.

"We think it could explain up to a fifth of the gap between high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries in terms of education quality," he said.

"It's a really big effect. It's as big as most of the education interventions that we study, teacher training, class size and those kinds of interventions. We think lead poisoning is as significant in the reverse direction."

He said the latest study helps identify schools that may be exposed to pollution from nearby contaminated sites, providing a clearer picture of where potential risks exist.

A threat beyond the classroom

The study found that about two million Ghanaian children attend schools within five kilometres of documented contaminated sites.

Asked what that could mean for Ghana's future if no action is taken, Crawfurd warned that the consequences could extend far beyond school performance.

"It's a significant drain on the economy as well as the learning of children," he said.

The effects, he added, could ultimately influence children's future earnings, productivity and wider economic development.

While a distance of five kilometres may appear considerable, Crawfurd said research from multiple countries suggests children living or learning within that range can still experience adverse effects.

"It sounds like a big distance, but we have good evidence now from several countries that children that far away from a contaminated site suffer in terms of their educational abilities."

He acknowledged that pollution remains a difficult issue for many communities to grasp because it is often invisible.

"It's difficult because it's something we can't see," he said. "But it's there and the science just keeps on building."

An unexpected finding

One of the study's more surprising findings was that children in wealthier neighbourhoods appeared more likely to attend schools near documented contaminated sites than children in poorer areas.

According to Crawfurd, this pattern was not unique to Ghana.

"It was wealthier households who were more likely to be exposed to pollution than poorer households to these specific polluted sites," he said, noting that similar trends emerged across most of the 17 countries included in the research.

The study also found that private schools were more likely than public schools to be located near contaminated sites.

Crawfurd attributed the pattern largely to the way cities have developed over time.

"All of these things cluster in cities together," he said. "Richer households and private schools and these contaminated sites."

For him, the findings point to broader weaknesses in urban planning and environmental management.

"It's a real failure of urban planning that these sites have not been moved out of residential areas," he said.

He added that the challenge is particularly visible in many capital cities, where contamination and pollution often exist close to homes, businesses and schools.

'A failure of regulation'

Crawfurd said the issue should not be viewed solely as a problem affecting schools.

"It's not just schools. It's where these children live as well," he said.

Schools featured prominently in the research because their locations can be accurately mapped, making it easier to assess children's potential exposure to nearby contaminated sites.

But addressing the problem, he argued, requires action beyond the education sector.

"Ultimately, I think this is a problem that is not just on schools to solve," he said. "It's an environmental problem. It's an environmental management problem and a failure of regulation."

His comments highlight growing concern among researchers that environmental pollution may be undermining children's health, learning and future opportunities in ways that are not immediately visible.

For Crawfurd, the evidence is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.