A GNA feature by Augustine Appiah
Accra, July 04, GNA – Education is the foundation of every nation’s development. In Ghana, many policies and programmes have been introduced to promote girl-child education because girls were once disadvantaged by poverty, early marriage, cultural beliefs, and gender discrimination.
The initiatives have helped thousands of girls gain access to quality education.
However, some people believe that the increasing focus on girls has resulted in less attention being paid to the educational needs of boys.
Over the years, scholarship schemes, mentorship programmes, and awareness campaigns have encouraged more girls to enrol in and complete school.
These efforts have reduced the gender gap in education and increased the number of girls pursuing higher education and professional careers. Today, many Ghanaian women are excelling as doctors, engineers, teachers, lawyers, and scientists because they were given opportunities to learn.
Despite these achievements, concerns have been raised about the education of the male child. In many communities, boys are leaving school to engage in farming, fishing, mining, commercial driving, and other forms of labour to support their families.
Others become involved in drug abuse, truancy and other social problems. Unlike girls, boys often have fewer educational support programmes specifically designed to address these challenges.
Some critics argue that scholarships and educational campaigns are more frequently targeted at girls than boys.
As a result, some boys feel overlooked and less motivated to continue their education. This perception has led to the belief that girl-child empowerment has limited male-child empowerment in the educational sector.
However, it is important to understand that girl-child empowerment was introduced to correct historical inequalities, not to deny boys educational opportunities. The real challenge is not that girls are being empowered, but that equal attention is not always given to the changing needs of boys. Education should promote fairness and inclusion for every child, regardless of gender.
To address this situation, the Government, schools, parents, and non-governmental organizations should adopt a balanced approach. While continuing to support girls, they should also introduce mentorship programmes, scholarships, career guidance, and counselling services for boys who are at risk of dropping out of school.
Both boys and girls deserve equal opportunities to develop their talents and contribute to national development.
In conclusion, girl-child empowerment has greatly improved access to education for many girls in Ghana.
However, there is a growing need to pay equal attention to the educational challenges facing boys.
The goal of education should not be to favour one gender over the other, but to ensure that every Ghanaian child succeeds and contribute meaningfully to society.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah