Knights and Ladies of Marshall support girls’ education

Members of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall in the Catholic Church have launched a programme to support girls’ in Mathematics and Science education in deprived communities across the country.

The programme has targeted 4,500 girls this year, with support package worth GH?33, 000.00, therefore beneficiary students would get mathematical sets and other learning and teaching materials.

Addressing the media in Sekondi to launch the programme, Sir Knight Edward Aloysius Prah, Board Chairman of Marshallan Relief and Development Services (MAREDES), a non-governmental organization, spearheading the programme, said the package aimed at reversing the poor performance of girls in Mathematics and Science subjects.

He indicated that this was the third successive year MAREDES, in collaboration with ECOBANK Ghana, had implemented the programme, to motivate girls in rural areas to be interested in Mathematics and Science, adding that 5,000 girls had benefited so far.

Sir Knight Prah, who observed that the recent report revealed that 75 per cent of Senior High School graduates performed poorly in Mathematics and Science in the 2015 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations, pointed to the urgency of the situation, saying it required concerted efforts by all and sundry to deal with it.

He stated MAREDES was exploring other innovative ways of not only assisting the girls, but also, improving their access to better methodologies of teaching the subject.

In this direction, the Board Chairman, averred that, it is planning to introduce sponsored Mathematics tutorials on television, particularly, targeting girls across the country.

"We are also looking at collaborating with the Ghana Education Service to sponsor in-service training for Mathematics teachers in targeted deprived communities to improve their pedagogy and general conduct in ways that will facilitate girls disposition to learn Mathematics,” he stressed.

He called on government to initiate a national discourse on how to improve teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science in schools as the core of the transformational agenda of the education system.

Mr. Emmanuel Akron, Zonal Manager of ECOBANK Ghana, said the bank supported the cause of girls’ education because it was in line with its vision of contributing to the socio-economic development of the country and the continent at large.

He recognized the many benefits of educating girls including, their employability, income, health and the general upbringing of their children.

He entreated the beneficiary students to make proper use of the teaching and learning materials, in order to become responsible future leaders.