Address the problem of girl-child education- Minister

Kpasa (V/R), Nov. 15, GNA - Mr Joseph Kwaku Nayan, the Deputy Volta Regional Minister, on Tuesday called for greater commitment from all stakeholders towards addressing bottlenecks that militate against girl-child education.

He appealed to chiefs to modernize outmoded customs that negated the development of the girl-child and places them in servitude. Mr. Nayan was speaking at the Girls' Week celebration at Kpassa in the Nkwanta District that was under the theme "Girls Retention and Achievement in School - A Sure Way to national Development". He urged parents to desist from betrothing their immature children, avoid coercing them into forced labour and other forms of dehumanising activities.

Mr Nayan said when the girl-child was given equal opportunities and support as their male counterparts the nation would be the beneficiary. He said statistics from the Ghana Education Service (GES) showed that more boys were enrolled than girls in basic schools countrywide in 2005 and urged policy makers and stakeholders to create awareness towards bridging the parity gap.

Mrs Matilda Bannerman-Mensah, the National Director of Girls Education Unit of GES, said even though there were increases in enrolment after the capitation grant scheme, statistics showed that there were fewer girls than boys at the basic level. She commended the government, the Gender Parity Unit, the Girls Education Unit of the GES, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for rising up to the task.

Reverend Ernest K. Gaewu, Nkwanta District Director of Education stressed the need to reinforce the retention strategies to minimize dropout rates.