Sampson Agodzo
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Ghana
Some additional thoughts on “3.3 Access to education,…….”
Female enrolment rates in formal education have been persistently low even though there is a
modest increase over the years. Cultural, religious and economic reasons have played major roles in
this trend. The issues raised in this section are well articulated and very useful for improving access
to education for the girl child. The following are some additional thoughts on access to girl child
education:
1. Incentives: Incentives such as free education and school feeding programmes are promoted all over the world but more needs to be done. There was a case in northern Ghana where girls have had to travel long distances to school and it became a disincentive. An NGO working among the communities offered to provide bicycles to girls and even household heads that were reluctant to send their girl children to school, warmed up to the idea because the bicycle met a general transportation need of the family. This, though, was not sustainable in the long run.
2. Negotiation rather than confrontation: Parents ultimately have control over their girl child. Negotiation with parents rather than confrontation is more likely to yield better results in improving girl enrolment rate in schools since this approach is more sustainable. Sustained trumpeting of success stories in educating the girl child should be one way of convincing reluctant parents to consider sending their girl children to school. In communities where social workers exist, they could assist reluctant parents to reconsider their stance.
3. Allaying fears and preparing the mind of the girl child: A teenager may menstruate for the first time in school and may be confused as to handle situations of that nature. Some may consider these natural processes as taboos, public ridicule and shame if it happens to them in public. For fear of what may happen, some teenage girls will rather avoid associations. Some girls absent themselves from school during their menstrual period.
4. Civil conflicts: Civil conflicts also pose threat to life and property and displacement of people especially women and children. While it is wished that such civil conflicts should not arise, the girl child tends to lose out more especially in matters of access to education.
Prof. Sampson Agodzo