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Mr Fuseini Abdul Rahim, Communications, Advocacy and Gender Officer of School for Life on Wednesday disclosed that over 65 per cent of girls between the ages of 15 and 18 in the north have not received formal education. According to him, only 30 per cent of women between the ages of 15 and 24 were literate in the Northern Region.
Mr Rahim disclosed this during Media launch of a documentary on girl child education, organised by the Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA) in collaboration with the School for Life h in Tamale.
The event, which was on the theme: “Leave No Girl Behind”, was to provide solution to the challenges of girl child education in the North. Mr Rahim stated that “only 60 per cent of children of primary school going age attend school leaving the remaining 40 per cent in the balance”.
He noted that the highest level of education attained in all the districts in the Northern region by the maximum proportion of both sexes was primary school and the proportion of females that has never been to school remains higher than that of males.
Mr Philip A. Gmabi, the Technical Advisor, Policy and Governance at Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA) in an interview told the Ghana News Agency that the girl child education in Ghana, ratified in the convention on the rights of the child in education but ‘Basic Education for All’ was still very far from being a reality for many children, particularly the girl-child in the rural areas.
He said there was the need for the traditional authorities to partner with government to initiate important programmes to address the gender gap in education. He said the society especially those in the deprived areas and communities do not understand and appreciate the importance of education, which is not only a basic right but also an essential way out to wean-off poverty in rural areas.
According to Mr Gmabi, to educate girls, proves to be the most cost-effective measure in developing countries, which helps to improve the standard of living. Mr Clement Boateng, Communicator and Media Officer of the Ghana Developing Communities Association called on the educational sector authorities to assist each child to develop his or her talent during school.
He urged parents to reduce the work of the girl child at home and share among the boy child to enable the girl child to also learn and excel in school.
