Bolgatanga Technical University receives grant to tackle gender-related issues
The Bolgatanga Technical University (BTU) in the Upper East Region has received a grant of CAD 28,750 to address gender-related issues and women’s rights within the university.
Advertisement
Dubbed “Gender Equity Project”, the grant was provided by Global Affairs Canada and administered through the Youth Challenge International (YCI), a leading global youth development Non- Governmental Organisation (NGO).
It was through the Partner Innovation Fund (PIF) ostensibly to bridge the gender gap in the institution as part of the implementation of the new project.
The project aims to increase the staff and students’ capacity and knowledge of gender issues and women’s rights through the implementation of new gender and sexual harassment policies including training sessions.
In line with the project, the university’s gender and sexual harassment policy would be made accessible to staff, both academic and non-academic, as well as students at all levels for them to be abreast of the contents of the policy.
In addition to knowing the various aspects of the policy through several training programmes, all key stakeholders would also be made aware of the processes to go through to report abuses and issues relating to sexual harassment within the university community.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Project Lead, Professor Daniel Azerikatoa Ayoung, said after successfully transitioning from a polytechnic to a technical university, the institution saw the need to develop these policies to guide members within the university on how to handle gender issues.
He stated that despite the university’s efforts aimed at educating students and staff on gender-related matters, more needed to be done to mainstream gender equality into all activities to achieve inclusivity.
Other Trending Stories
He stressed that reporting of sexual harassment in the university among staff and students was unclear, hence the development of the new policy to assist victims to easily report such issues for them to be addressed appropriately.
Deficiency
He noted that during the Organisational Capacity Assessment (OCA) of the university, it was realised that the BTU was deficient in gender equality and sexual harassment issues.
“Therefore, we decided to apply for the funds to create awareness of both staff and students on gender and sexual harassment issues and to provide a platform for them to voice out their feelings about such matters,” he said.