Camfed Ghana commended for empowering girls
The Campaign for Female Education (Camfed Ghana), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has been commended for its contributions towards the education of girls and empowering young women to become economically independent and build a good future for themselves.
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The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, who gave the commendation, said when opportunities were created for women to take control of their future and live quality lives, they would contribute significantly to good family life and national development.
"When women take centre stage in our politics, our business environment, and decision making in our communities, we will witness unprecedented accelerated development in the country," he stressed.
AGM
Alhaji Limuna was speaking at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Camfed in Tamale on the theme: "Improving Academic Performance in Schools: A Call for urgent Innovation Actions."
The AGM provided a platform for Camfed Ghana, its partners and key stakeholders in education to discuss critical educational issues on the theme.
Premium on girls’ education
Alhaji Limuna stated that the government placed a high premium on the education of the girl-child, hence its decision to establish the Girls’ Education Unit under the Ghana Education Service to boost girls’ education in the country.
He lauded Camfed for working closely with the unit to promote the education of girls in the country and gave the assurance that the government would continue to collaborate and work with public-spirited organisations such as Camfed to complement its efforts to enhance access to quality education for all Ghanaian children of school age.
Early marriage
The Principal of the Tamale College of Education, Chief Alhaji Yakubu Bukari, who was the guest speaker, called on traditional rulers to institute measures against early marriage of girls, so they could be in school and work to attain higher educational heights for a good future.
Quota for female admission
He stated that as part of efforts to ensure that females were given a fair chance to gain admission to the college, an admission quota of 50 per cent was reserved for females.
"The unfortunate situation is that in spite of the generous admission policy in favour of females, the college still struggles to get adequate number of qualified female applicants to take up the allocated quota," Chief Bukari stated.
Decline in academic performance
The Executive Director of Camfed Ghana, Mrs Dolores Dickson, said: “Through interventions by Camfed Ghana and other stakeholders in education, our efforts have yielded some positive results. The country still experiences declining academic performance at different levels of education.”