5,151 graduates of School for Life integrated into formal schools

Dalun (N/R), Aug. 4, GNA- Over 5,151 graduates from the School For Life (SFl), a non formal school system for shepherd boys and girls have since September 2008 been integrated into the formal school system. The number is made up of 2,874 boys and 2,277 girls. Professor Abubakr Al-Hassan, Chairman of the Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA) said this at the 25th Annual General Meeting of the Association in Dalun in the Tolon/Kumbungu District, at the weekend.

The GDCA is an NGO made up of the SFl, the Community Life Improvement Project (CLIP) and Simli Pong, all working to improve upon the living conditions of the people in the Northern Region. Professor Al-Hassan said out of a total of 8,455 learners enrolled in the SFL in October last year, 3,683 were girls and 4,772 boys, representing 43.6 and 56.4 percents respectively. He said learner retention was 98.7 percent as a total of 8.343 succeeded in graduating from the initial enrollment of 8,455 learners, adding that out of those who graduated, 4,697 or 55.5 percent were boys and 3,646 representing 43.1 percent were girls.

He said a total of 25,000 children were now able to read and write as a result of the interventions of the SFL and its partners. Professor Al-Hassan disclosed that under the USAID funded Ambassadors Girls Scholarship Programme; scholarships were disbursed to 680 needy girls, including some 300 boys in 9 of the SFl operational districts of the programme. Under the GDCAs Community Life Improvement Project, Professor Al-Hassan said out of 228 requests for household latrines in seven communities in the Yendi and Karaga districts, it has so far assisted 57 of them. He said a total of 11,000 individuals mainly women had also benefited from various micro-credit schemes, which had improved their businesses and families. Mr Stephen Sumani Nayina, Northern Regional Minister in a speech read for him, commended the GDCA for its interventions in the areas of education and community development. He said the government would ensure that education is made accessible, especially for the poor, by continuing with the School Feeding Programme and the Capitation grant.