By Dennis Peprah
Fiapre, (Bono), Oct. 10, GNA-Mrs Constance Adogbama Ayambila, the Sunyani West Gender Education Officer of the Ghana Education Service has lauded stakeholders’ contributions towards improving girls’ retention rates in schools in the Municipality.
She emphasised that with the effective collaboration of teachers and parents, only three pregnant girls in the four circuits wrote the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the municipality.
Mrs Ayambila said more support was required to intensify community outreaches on the relevance of girl-child education to improve girls’ enrolment and retention in schools.
The GES Gender Officer gave the commendation when she spoke at a girls’ forum to mark the International Girl Child Week celebration on the theme: “Raising confident girls for tomorrow’s leadership,” at Fiapre in the Municipality.
On December 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child; to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.
The Gender Unit of the Sunyani West Municipal Directorate of Education in partnership with the Bono Regional office of the National Youth Authority (NYA) organised the forum to empower more than 1,000 girls to aspire for leadership positions.
They were selected from the basic schools in the four circuits of the municipal directorate of education, namely; Fiapre, Nsoatre, Chiraa and Odomase circuits.
Mrs Ayambila acknowledged the exceptional contributions of the girl-child education facilitators in the various schools in the municipality, which contributed to improving girl-child education in the municipality.
She advised teachers and families to inspire girls to develop interest and pursue science, mathematics, and engineering education.
Miss Princella Dzidzor, a Programmes Officer at the Bono Regional Office of the NYA commended the municipal education directorate for the forum and pledged the Authority commitment to support girl’s empowerment programmes.
She said the Authority was implementing mentorship porgrammes to inspire girls to develop interest and take leadership positions.
Earlier, Mr Moses Hinneh, the School Improvement Support Officer of the Fiapre Circuit, stressed the need to support girls to break barriers and improve their confidence and courage to achieve excellence in all spheres of life.
He said: “Our duty as educators, parents, and community leaders is to nurture confidence, guide their dreams, and provide opportunities that prepare girls for leadership roles in the future”.
Mr Hinneh commended headteachers and teachers and urged them to redouble their efforts in shaping the minds of school children and improving their academic performance.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei