Ghana is Breaking Down Gender Stereotypes

Local development partners endorsed Ghana’s Education Sector Plan in 2004. Before joining the Global Partnership for Education, Ghanaian schools lacked basic facilities for girls and were unable to keep them in school past puberty.

By joining the Global Partnership for Education, Ghana made the goals of gender parity and universal primary completion the stalwarts of government policy.

With grants and publicity campaigns to break down gender stereotypes, the government of Ghana increased enrollment and transition to secondary education for girls.

Between 1999 and 2004, there has been a modest increase in girls’ enrollment of about 5 percent over four years.

Post GPE's endorsement in 2004 and over the next four years, Ghana witnessed a significant 32 percent increase in gross enrollment (GER). The commitment to the Global Partnership for Education process resulted in better delivery of education services and increases in the demand for education.

Increases in girls’ enrollment are based on the size of the new recruits. The Grade 1 intake for girls, post-EFA (2004 to 2008), is 27 percent, compared to the negative intake trend in the years before. This may have directly resulted from improved access to education facilities for girls.

The Education Sector Plan (ESP) for Ghana includes a list of general and specific interventions to increase participation by girls in the education system. General interventions include placing schools in remote settlements and constructing and rehabilitating school facilities.

Both these strategies reduced travelling distances for girls. Teacher recruitment, including more women teachers, and teacher training also helped girls’ education. Other girl-friendly measures included:

• Separate sanitation facilities
• Eliminating gender stereotyping in educational materials
• Encouraging recruitment and deployment of women
  teachers as role models
• Putting in place systems/processes to ensure safety for
  girls in school
• Scholarship programs for girls

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