Rural Girls Asked to Strive for Higher Education

By Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman

Tafo — Young girls living in rural areas have been urged to attain the higher heights in education and eschew cultural, religious norms and superstitious beliefs.

According to the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Technical Vocation Education Training (TVET), Mrs Gifty Twum Ampofo, such chauvinism, among others things, especially the saying that 'the girl is for the kitchen' was still preventing a lot of girls from climbing high the education ladder.

"As a country, if we want to achieve the SDG Goal 4 and 5, which talks about quality education and equity, there is the need for us to groom, train the girl child and psyche them that they can attain higher heights on the education ladder as the men, so that they can fill in key positions in the country when it comes to decision making," she said.

Mrs Ampofo urged the girls during the opening of a five-day camp organised yesterday by herself and other stakeholders for about 700 pupils from the various Junior High Schools in the Abuakwa North Constituency.

The camp was meant to train them, especially the girls in Mathematics, English Language, Integrated Science and TVET as well as in public speaking, life skills, building self confidence among others.

A "He For She Club" made up of boys was also inaugurated to train and psyche the minds of the boys into seeing girls as development partners.

Mrs Twum Ampofo noted that at the primary school level, statistics showed gender balance and equity in terms of the ratio of boys to girls, adding that however, when it comes to moving further the education ladder the ratio of girls dropped to that of the boys.

She stated that the situation was worrying, adding that it moved her to gather the pupils to enable her motivate and encourage them as well as mentor them to attain greater heights in education.

The Deputy Minister also noted that in many schools most boys ridicule the girls instead of encouraging them hence the 'He for She Club' has been formed to train the boys not to ridicule the girls but rather encourage them to learn hard and push them up when they are down."

Mrs Twum Ampofo also mentioned teenage pregnancy as another obstacle preventing the girls from attaining higher heights and urged them to rather focus on their education and eschew having affairs with boys at that tender ages.

For his part, the Chief of Akyem Kukurantumi, Daasebre Boamah Darko lauded Mrs Twum Ampofo for her initiative and encouraged the pupils to learn hard to become great people in future.

The pupils were given learning materials and fed for the five days.

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