The document summarizes a case study on the University for Development Studies' Bridging Programme for girls in Ghana, which aims to promote gender equity in higher education. Some key points:
1) Before the program, there was a large gender gap in university enrollment favoring males; after the program was implemented, the gender gap was reduced.
2) The program provides admissions to female students from poorer backgrounds and rural areas who have weaker academic qualifications than normal admissions requirements.
3) Once enrolled through the program, the female students were able to compete favorably with students admitted through the normal process.
4) The program has helped increase female representation in university enrollment, but support from local governments could help sponsor
Children’s Participation in Schooling and Education in Pastoralist Woredas of...QUESTJOURNAL
ABSTRACT: Pastoralists are among the marginalized groups of society who live in a marginalized environment and whose livelihood is exposed to the vagaries of climate and harsh environmental conditions. This study explores into impediments of pastoral children’s participation into schooling and education with particular emphasis on the primary school of selected Woreda, Afar Zone. To achieve this purpose, a qualitative research method was employed. Participants of the study were selected by employing purposive sampling mainly on the basis of their roles related to schooling. Seven members of parent teacher associations, 20 teachers, 4 school principals, 14 education experts and officials, a total of 45 respondents took part in the study. Data were collected through the use of different instruments: Strutted interview, focus group discussion, and document review and observation checklist. The data obtained through these data collection instruments were analysed thematically. The steps involved were organizing and preparing data for analysis, reading through all data, coding, generating a description of the settings and people and identifying categories or themes for analysis, representing descriptions and themes in the qualitative narrative and interpretation. The study identified several cultural and economic barriers such as early marriage, lack of interest for modern education, parental level of education, mobility, child labor, poverty and finance. The results also showed that existence of both supply and demand side constraints. Problem of funding, inability to attract and retain qualified teaching staff, poorly equipped schools and community perception of modern education as a threat to pastoralist way of life were the major supply related shortcomings. The demand side limitations were identified as dispersed settlement patterns, demand for child labour, bride-price and peer pressure. Mandatory seasonal mobility, frequent conflicts and conflict induced displacement were cited as the most pronounced disenabling features.Drought and harsh weather were the driving forces of mobility. Competition over water sources and pastureland coupled with border dispute and cattle raid were identified as the long standing causes of armed conflict which in turn result in school activity disruption. Thus, based on the findings, recommendation is made to planners and policymakers so as to alleviate the observed shortcomings. Improving quality of school facilities, sensitization campaign on the benefits of education, blended mode of delivery, peace dialogue to arrest recurring conflicts, self-proof of schools about their worthiness to the local community and rethinking of teacher incentive mechanisms are some of the important propositions made in view to avert the long standing legacy of educational under representation of the Afar pastoralist communities in Ethiopia.
The Perception of Stakeholders’ on Academic Performance of Junior high Schoo...AI Publications
The study investigated stakeholders’ perception and academic performance of students in Junior High Schools (JHS), with hard evidence from the Choggu Circuit in the Sanarigu District. Simple stratified, proportional random sampling was used to select a sample size of 191, representing 20 percent of the total population of 36 teachers and the entire seven member School Management Committee (SMC) and Parent Teachers Association (PTA) executives of the schools involved. Questionnaire and interview schedule were the main instruments used to elicit responses. Data analysis and interpretation indicated that academic performance of JHS is perceived by stakeholders to be hampered by quality teacher delivery and inadequate / unavailability of educational resources. In the light of these findings, suggestions for improvement in the quality of teaching and learning were made.
Children’s Participation in Schooling and Education in Pastoralist Woredas of...QUESTJOURNAL
ABSTRACT: Pastoralists are among the marginalized groups of society who live in a marginalized environment and whose livelihood is exposed to the vagaries of climate and harsh environmental conditions. This study explores into impediments of pastoral children’s participation into schooling and education with particular emphasis on the primary school of selected Woreda, Afar Zone. To achieve this purpose, a qualitative research method was employed. Participants of the study were selected by employing purposive sampling mainly on the basis of their roles related to schooling. Seven members of parent teacher associations, 20 teachers, 4 school principals, 14 education experts and officials, a total of 45 respondents took part in the study. Data were collected through the use of different instruments: Strutted interview, focus group discussion, and document review and observation checklist. The data obtained through these data collection instruments were analysed thematically. The steps involved were organizing and preparing data for analysis, reading through all data, coding, generating a description of the settings and people and identifying categories or themes for analysis, representing descriptions and themes in the qualitative narrative and interpretation. The study identified several cultural and economic barriers such as early marriage, lack of interest for modern education, parental level of education, mobility, child labor, poverty and finance. The results also showed that existence of both supply and demand side constraints. Problem of funding, inability to attract and retain qualified teaching staff, poorly equipped schools and community perception of modern education as a threat to pastoralist way of life were the major supply related shortcomings. The demand side limitations were identified as dispersed settlement patterns, demand for child labour, bride-price and peer pressure. Mandatory seasonal mobility, frequent conflicts and conflict induced displacement were cited as the most pronounced disenabling features.Drought and harsh weather were the driving forces of mobility. Competition over water sources and pastureland coupled with border dispute and cattle raid were identified as the long standing causes of armed conflict which in turn result in school activity disruption. Thus, based on the findings, recommendation is made to planners and policymakers so as to alleviate the observed shortcomings. Improving quality of school facilities, sensitization campaign on the benefits of education, blended mode of delivery, peace dialogue to arrest recurring conflicts, self-proof of schools about their worthiness to the local community and rethinking of teacher incentive mechanisms are some of the important propositions made in view to avert the long standing legacy of educational under representation of the Afar pastoralist communities in Ethiopia.
The Perception of Stakeholders’ on Academic Performance of Junior high Schoo...AI Publications
The study investigated stakeholders’ perception and academic performance of students in Junior High Schools (JHS), with hard evidence from the Choggu Circuit in the Sanarigu District. Simple stratified, proportional random sampling was used to select a sample size of 191, representing 20 percent of the total population of 36 teachers and the entire seven member School Management Committee (SMC) and Parent Teachers Association (PTA) executives of the schools involved. Questionnaire and interview schedule were the main instruments used to elicit responses. Data analysis and interpretation indicated that academic performance of JHS is perceived by stakeholders to be hampered by quality teacher delivery and inadequate / unavailability of educational resources. In the light of these findings, suggestions for improvement in the quality of teaching and learning were made.
Presentation of findings from Young Lives by Virginia Morrow and Paul Dornan, at the New School New York on 5 November 2014. Further info: http://www.younglives.org.uk/news/news/event-advancing-equity-for-children
School-related gender-based violence: evidence of effective interventionsConcernWorldwide
This presentation outlines Concern Worldwide's education programme approach and outcomes, key questions, challenges and findings within the context of gender-based violence. It was presented at at the Global Education Conference in Oxford in September 2013.
Including all children in quality learning - The call to action ‘Education Equity Now!’ supported by the Government of Turkey and UNICEF, will call on 20 governments in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia to put education reform measures in place so that all children, particularly the most vulnerable and excluded, are reached.
Dropout Prevention in California Schools through Civic EngagementMichelleHerczog
Learn how civically engaging students through service-learning is a proven methodology for reducing dropout rates, building resiliency, and motivating students to become successful learners and effective citizens.
Challenges Parents Face While Participating in the Education of Their Childrenpaperpublications3
Abstract: The significance of parental participation in education achievement of learners at any level cannot be over-emphasized. Despite the Kenyan government policy that requires parents to be actively involved in the education of their children at six levels. Available studies show that parents are not as actively involved as required and even those who are involved; their involvement is limited to provision of finances, facilities and attendance of meetings. The study sought to investigate challenges facing parents in their active participation in the education of pre-school learners in Kiogoro Division, Kisii County, with a view of suggesting ways of promoting active parental participation in education of pre-school learners. The study reviewed various literatures on some past studies and assessed their contribution to the objectives of this study. The study used descriptive survey design to carry out the study with both qualitative and quantitative methodologies of collecting data. The study sample comprised of 10 pre-schools, 10 primary school head teachers, 10 pre-school teachers and 111 parents. The study used simple random sampling to select pre-school teachers and parents. Purposive sampling was used to select primary school head teachers and pre-school teachers. Data was collected by use of questionnaire, interview schedule and document analysis guide. Coded data was presented using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version and analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentages presented in tables as well as Pearson correlation to establish the relationship between the variable. The study found that lack of clear policies in preschools regarding parental participation, lack of proper mode of communication with their children; poor parent-preschool teacher relationship, unfavourable head teachers’ leadership style and illiteracy among the parents were some of the challenges facing parents in their active participation in education of preschool learners. Parents should be encouraged through various programs on participation in education welfare of their preschool learners. Awareness programs for parents should be organized informing them on the benefit of their participation in education activities for their children. Parents should also be enlightened on the best communication practices with both their children and the school administration to foster good parent-teacher and parent-child relationship. The study suggest that future studies should be done on institutional factors influencing parental participation in education welfare of the preschool learners and socio-demographic factors influencing parental participation in education welfare of the preschool learners.
It is widely known that education for all ought to be equal to all, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender and hierarchy. Although equality in education is the primary purpose of our government, however, there are some instances that inequality in education exists due to some factors. This research identifies the factors that lead to inequality in education. Based on our findings factors such as individual characteristics attitudes and beliefs, psychological traits, parental socio economic status , individual educational success attainment, field of study , population groups men and women and ethnic groups , educational inequality gender pay gap, horizontal, occupational and segregation contributes to the overall dilemma. Moreover, our findings also show that micro and social contributes to the gaps of inequality of education, thus, social interactions and social structures affects the micro conditions and outcome. This implied that educational inequality is caused by different factors and constructs that undermined the policy of an educational system and this lead to inequality of education. Lucelle B. Collamat | Maureen S. Salagada | Emerson A. Sentos | Clarissa S. Tabar | Regina P. Galigao "Inequality in Education: A Literature Review" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-6 , October 2020, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd33639.pdf Paper Url: https://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/education/33639/inequality-in-education-a-literature-review/lucelle-b-collamat
Early childhood/whole child draft recommendations JuneEducationNC
Draft recommendations of the early childhood/whole child work group of the Governor's Commission on Access to Sound Basic Education (from June 2019 meeting)
Leadership Advocacy For Early Childhood Education - ebookschoice.comnoblex1
Early childhood development and education has been a major topic of discussion and planning at all levels—federal, state, and local communities — not only because of the widespread recognition of the research base on the importance of early development to long-term schooling success, but as a critical national investment strategy for the future of the nation in the 21st Century global economy.
Source: https://ebookschoice.com/leadership-advocacy-for-early-childhood-education/
Assessment of Socio-Cultural Constraints On Girls’ Success in Education: The ...paperpublications3
Abstract:In countries, such as Ethiopia, girls are at a disadvantageous position in terms of accessing and succeeding in their education. The objective for this study is to examine the socio-cultural factors affecting girl’s education. The scope of the study focuses on one Primary School where female students are enrolled and limited to grades 4 - 8 and in the age group of 12-18. The sample size of this particular study was 40 female students and 10 respondents for focus group discussion. The respondents were selected using the probability sampling technique and systematic random sampling method.
The findings of this study revealed that girls living in the study area had faced many socio- cultural problems hampering their enrollment and their success in their education. The perception of the community about female education, long distance of the school, early marriage, abduction and lack of role model in their village, as well as, in their school are the major factors that hinders girls’ enrolment and success.
Finally, it was suggested that the collaboration of the community, teachers, school leaders, parents, government and non-government organizations are very important to increase the participation and success of female’s students in the study area.
Keywords: Constraints, primary school, Socio-Cultural and success.
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI)inventionjournals
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Humanities and Social Science. IJHSSI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Humanities and Social Science, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online
Presentation of findings from Young Lives by Virginia Morrow and Paul Dornan, at the New School New York on 5 November 2014. Further info: http://www.younglives.org.uk/news/news/event-advancing-equity-for-children
School-related gender-based violence: evidence of effective interventionsConcernWorldwide
This presentation outlines Concern Worldwide's education programme approach and outcomes, key questions, challenges and findings within the context of gender-based violence. It was presented at at the Global Education Conference in Oxford in September 2013.
Including all children in quality learning - The call to action ‘Education Equity Now!’ supported by the Government of Turkey and UNICEF, will call on 20 governments in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia to put education reform measures in place so that all children, particularly the most vulnerable and excluded, are reached.
Dropout Prevention in California Schools through Civic EngagementMichelleHerczog
Learn how civically engaging students through service-learning is a proven methodology for reducing dropout rates, building resiliency, and motivating students to become successful learners and effective citizens.
Challenges Parents Face While Participating in the Education of Their Childrenpaperpublications3
Abstract: The significance of parental participation in education achievement of learners at any level cannot be over-emphasized. Despite the Kenyan government policy that requires parents to be actively involved in the education of their children at six levels. Available studies show that parents are not as actively involved as required and even those who are involved; their involvement is limited to provision of finances, facilities and attendance of meetings. The study sought to investigate challenges facing parents in their active participation in the education of pre-school learners in Kiogoro Division, Kisii County, with a view of suggesting ways of promoting active parental participation in education of pre-school learners. The study reviewed various literatures on some past studies and assessed their contribution to the objectives of this study. The study used descriptive survey design to carry out the study with both qualitative and quantitative methodologies of collecting data. The study sample comprised of 10 pre-schools, 10 primary school head teachers, 10 pre-school teachers and 111 parents. The study used simple random sampling to select pre-school teachers and parents. Purposive sampling was used to select primary school head teachers and pre-school teachers. Data was collected by use of questionnaire, interview schedule and document analysis guide. Coded data was presented using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version and analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentages presented in tables as well as Pearson correlation to establish the relationship between the variable. The study found that lack of clear policies in preschools regarding parental participation, lack of proper mode of communication with their children; poor parent-preschool teacher relationship, unfavourable head teachers’ leadership style and illiteracy among the parents were some of the challenges facing parents in their active participation in education of preschool learners. Parents should be encouraged through various programs on participation in education welfare of their preschool learners. Awareness programs for parents should be organized informing them on the benefit of their participation in education activities for their children. Parents should also be enlightened on the best communication practices with both their children and the school administration to foster good parent-teacher and parent-child relationship. The study suggest that future studies should be done on institutional factors influencing parental participation in education welfare of the preschool learners and socio-demographic factors influencing parental participation in education welfare of the preschool learners.
It is widely known that education for all ought to be equal to all, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender and hierarchy. Although equality in education is the primary purpose of our government, however, there are some instances that inequality in education exists due to some factors. This research identifies the factors that lead to inequality in education. Based on our findings factors such as individual characteristics attitudes and beliefs, psychological traits, parental socio economic status , individual educational success attainment, field of study , population groups men and women and ethnic groups , educational inequality gender pay gap, horizontal, occupational and segregation contributes to the overall dilemma. Moreover, our findings also show that micro and social contributes to the gaps of inequality of education, thus, social interactions and social structures affects the micro conditions and outcome. This implied that educational inequality is caused by different factors and constructs that undermined the policy of an educational system and this lead to inequality of education. Lucelle B. Collamat | Maureen S. Salagada | Emerson A. Sentos | Clarissa S. Tabar | Regina P. Galigao "Inequality in Education: A Literature Review" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-6 , October 2020, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd33639.pdf Paper Url: https://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/education/33639/inequality-in-education-a-literature-review/lucelle-b-collamat
Early childhood/whole child draft recommendations JuneEducationNC
Draft recommendations of the early childhood/whole child work group of the Governor's Commission on Access to Sound Basic Education (from June 2019 meeting)
Leadership Advocacy For Early Childhood Education - ebookschoice.comnoblex1
Early childhood development and education has been a major topic of discussion and planning at all levels—federal, state, and local communities — not only because of the widespread recognition of the research base on the importance of early development to long-term schooling success, but as a critical national investment strategy for the future of the nation in the 21st Century global economy.
Source: https://ebookschoice.com/leadership-advocacy-for-early-childhood-education/
Assessment of Socio-Cultural Constraints On Girls’ Success in Education: The ...paperpublications3
Abstract:In countries, such as Ethiopia, girls are at a disadvantageous position in terms of accessing and succeeding in their education. The objective for this study is to examine the socio-cultural factors affecting girl’s education. The scope of the study focuses on one Primary School where female students are enrolled and limited to grades 4 - 8 and in the age group of 12-18. The sample size of this particular study was 40 female students and 10 respondents for focus group discussion. The respondents were selected using the probability sampling technique and systematic random sampling method.
The findings of this study revealed that girls living in the study area had faced many socio- cultural problems hampering their enrollment and their success in their education. The perception of the community about female education, long distance of the school, early marriage, abduction and lack of role model in their village, as well as, in their school are the major factors that hinders girls’ enrolment and success.
Finally, it was suggested that the collaboration of the community, teachers, school leaders, parents, government and non-government organizations are very important to increase the participation and success of female’s students in the study area.
Keywords: Constraints, primary school, Socio-Cultural and success.
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI)inventionjournals
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Humanities and Social Science. IJHSSI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Humanities and Social Science, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online
Education is the yardstick for every country’s political and socio-economic development; which acts as a basis of reducing poverty and inequality by enabling the use of new technologies, creating and spreading knowledge. Despite the large inflows of donor financing and the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Education and Sports; the sector for the last 29 years is still grappling to balance the increasing access with quality education in secondary schools. Therefore, the main objective of this article is to explore the new strategies the Ministry of Education and Sports can employ to increase access while improving the quality education in the country. The article is based on literature review and the author’s experience in education. The article examines the advantages of open schooling and reveals that the programme provides the fast-track options for retaining students; bringing dropouts and over-aged learners to school; reducing administrative costs and enabling young people to be effective in life. Furthermore, the researcher discusses the likely challenges of the programme and gives practical working solutions aimed at overcoming the challenges of implementing the programme in Uganda.
Key words: Open Schooling, Access to Education, Quality Education, Dropouts
2.Education and Gender Issues in Context of Pakistan
Pakistan, spanning 803,940 square kilometers, shares borders with India, Iran, Afghanistan, and the Arabian Sea. Divided into three territories and four provinces, Punjab is the most populous, with women making up less than half of the population. According to the Constitution of Pakistan, the state shall: ‘remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory secondary education within minimum possible period’ (Article 37-B, Constitution of Pakistan, 1973). In addition, Article 25 of the Constitution states: ’All citizens are equal before the law and entitled to protection of law, and that nothing in the article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the protection of women and children.’ The Constitution thus supports efforts towards ensuring gender equality and equity in education.
Education and Gender Issues in Pakistan: A Policy Overview
2.1 National Educational Policy 1998-2010: Bridging Gaps and Improving Quality
The government's commitment to international and national agreements is reflected in the National Educational Policy, focusing on enrollment, urban-rural gender balance, and curriculum reform.
2.2. Education Sector Reforms Action Plan 2001-2004: Targeting Gender Disparities
This plan emphasizes gender-desegregated data and women's inclusion, aiming to bridge educational gaps and promote female participation.
2.3. Pakistan Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP 2004): Addressing Challenges
PRSP addresses challenges like infrastructure and teacher shortages, recognizing education as vital in poverty reduction strategies.
2.4. MDGs and Gender Equality: Slow Progress in Pakistan
While MDGs emphasize gender issues, progress in Pakistan is slow. The National Policy and Action Plan 2001 tackles child labor, focusing on education as a key strategy.
2.5. National Plan of Action for Women: Empowering Through Education
This plan aims for gender equality in education by 2013, addressing barriers and recommending formal and informal approaches.
2.6. Challenges in Implementation: CEDAW and National Commission on the Status of Women
Effective implementation of CEDAW and the National Plan of Action faces challenges, with resource constraints hindering gender inequality monitoring.
2.7. Gender Reform Action Plan (2003): Policy Interventions for Women's Education
This plan emphasizes policy interventions for women's education, addressing socio-economic indicators and violence against women.
2.8. Educational Landscape in Pakistan: Class Divisions and Power Structures
Feudal, tribal, and patriarchal power structures impact education. Public schools dominate, but private schools in urban areas offer increased opportunities for girls.
2.9. Education Systems in Pakistan: Access Challenges and Preferences
The public, private, non-formal, and madrassah systems coexist. Traditional customs and religious restrictions often limit girls' access to education.
Socio Cultural Factors and Retention of Boy Child in Public Primary Schools i...ijtsrd
Retention in school has positive consequences for individuals throughout their lives. This study presents the current factors that contribute to retention of boy child in public primary school, with a view of getting possible solution for countering the problems that causes boy child not to retain in school. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of the socio cultural factors on retention of boy child in public primary schools in Turkana West Sub County. The research was guided by the classical liberal theory of equal opportunity. The research adopted a descriptive survey method. This design was considered appropriate because data was collected at one point in time across many individuals. The target population of the study comprised of 62 Head Teachers, 62 Deputy Head Teachers, 62 Senior Teachers and 62 Guidance and Counseling Teachers. The 14 Chiefs of Turkana West Sub County were also included as part of key informants in the study. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists SPSS . Quantitative data collected was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics to generate percentages, means, standard deviations and frequencies. Inferential statistics was done using linear regression model. The study results were presented using tables and figures. The findings for the study demonstrated that socio cultural factors have a negative effects on boy child retention in public primary schools in Turkana West Sub County. Itao Erukudi Titus | Sarah Likoko | Jane Barasa "Socio-Cultural Factors and Retention of Boy Child in Public Primary Schools in Turkana West Sub-County, Kenya" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-7 | Issue-4, August 2023, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd59772.pdf Paper Url:https://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/education/59772/sociocultural-factors-and-retention-of-boy-child-in-public-primary-schools-in-turkana-west-subcounty-kenya/itao-erukudi-titus
In addition to analyzing the characteristics of gender equality in tertiary education enrolment in Africa, this paper empirically studies the key drivers of gender equality in tertiary education enrolment, using cross-sectional time series data from 1970 to 2012. Our results show that the coefficient associated with the level of real GDP per capita is positive and statistically significant. Our results also suggest that higher domestic investment, increased economic globalization, the quadratic element of political globalization, economic globalization, ethnic fractionalization, increased democracy, and Christian dominance in a country increase gender equality in tertiary education enrolment in the continent. However, increases in the level of political globalization and increased incidence of civil wars tend to lower it. The policy implications and lessons of these results are discussed.
In 2007, the University of Central Lancashire developed a Foundation Degree in
Community Leadership. This course was initially conceived to meet a demand within the
female South Asian community of Burnley for a higher education programme that would
build their capacity to be more effective community activists, and moreover, a requirement
for a course that would be able to meet family, cultural and social needs. The purpose of
this paper is to explore the value of widening participation to higher education for South
Asian women from Burnley in terms of social capital, community cohesion and contribution
to the local knowledge economy. The authors used an action research methodology as
part of a reflective research process influenced by the work of Paulo Freire (Freire, 1996).
This paper argues that widening participation to higher education for women from minority
backgrounds is a valuable tool in addressing cultural and social segregation. Moreover, it
demonstrates an added value that by broadening the knowledge economy of the Pakistani
diaspora in Burnley there is a resulting resonance within the heritage domicile of Gujrat,
Pakistan.1 widening participation-lifelong-learning-vol14_winter_12-13_article-11
Implications of Free Primary Education on KCPE Examinations Performance In Pu...paperpublications3
Abstract: The introduction of Free Primary Education in Kenya in 2003 increased enrolment from 5.9 million pupils to 7.6. By 2011, enrolment stood at 9.2 million pupils representing a 63% increase rate in nine years. It increased pupil to teacher ratio and pupil to textbook ratio. The Kenya certificate of primary education (KCPE) is crucial since it is the indicator of a child’s basic education. The objectives of the study were to: determine the effects of enrolment of pupils on KCPE examinations performance, determine the effects of pupil to teacher ratio on KCPE examinations performance, find out the effects of pupil to textbook ratio on KCPE examinations performance, determine whether there is any significant improvement of KCPE in public primary schools of Kemera Division after the introduction of FPE using a chi square analysis and find out the effects of physical facilities on KCPE examinations performance in public primary schools. The literature was reviewed using the sub themes from the objectives. The study used stratified random sampling and descriptive design. The instruments used were questionnaires, interview schedules, focused group discussions and observations checklist. The total target population was 18 primary schools, 8326 pupils, 204 teachers 18 Head teachers, 180 school committee members and 2 education officers. The total population sampled was 372.The target groups from whom data was collected were pupils of class 4-8, teachers, Head teachers, school committee members and educational officers in the Division. The sample size constituted of 250 pupils, 80 teachers, 30 committee members, 10 Head teachers and 2 education officers in the Division .The study found out that enrolment was high, schools had uneven distribution of teachers, pupil to textbook ratio was inadequate and physical facilities were not enough. Chi square analysis showed no significant improvement in KCPE performance in the schools of the Division after the introduction of FPE. The study recommended that disbursement of funds to be sent in time to cater for high enrolment, Teacher to pupil ratio to be improved, Pupil to textbook ratio to be at 1:1, physical facilities to be improved and these would bring quality education and good KCPE results. The results obtained would be useful in informing policy on the improvement of the KCPE performance in the Division.
Students' abesenteeism a silent killer of universal secondary education in ug...Komakech Robert Agwot
Education has a huge impact on any human society and it can safely be assumed that no society is optimally functional until it is properly educated. In the global perspective, it is an undeniable fact that the progress of a nation is very much dependent on the education of its citizens. Similarly, in Uganda education is a fundamental human right and it is the duty of the state to promote free and compulsory education to the citizens. This constitutional mandate gave birth to free education from primary to secondary under Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) since 1997 and 2007 respectively. The purpose of this study was to investigate the major causes of students’ absenteeism; and the possible solutions to the vices in Universal Secondary Education Schools in Uganda. The study applied a descriptive cross sectional research design. The study also employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches/methods. Data was collected using secondary and primary sources. Secondary sources consisted of publications, reports and literature related to students’ absenteeism whist primary data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics from the study population of one thousand (1000) constituting a sample of 278 respondents of which 226 returned their fully completed questionnaires giving a response rate at 81.3%; obtained from 17 out of 36 USE schools in the four (4) districts of Serere, Ngora, Soroti and Kumi comprised of 07, 04, 03, and 03 USE schools respectively. The four districts were considered because they have all categories of secondary schools in Uganda.
The study findings showed that; Lack of scholastic requirements, ...
The French Revolution, which began in 1789, was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France. It marked the decline of absolute monarchies, the rise of secular and democratic republics, and the eventual rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This revolutionary period is crucial in understanding the transition from feudalism to modernity in Europe.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
Acetabularia Information For Class 9 .docxvaibhavrinwa19
Acetabularia acetabulum is a single-celled green alga that in its vegetative state is morphologically differentiated into a basal rhizoid and an axially elongated stalk, which bears whorls of branching hairs. The single diploid nucleus resides in the rhizoid.
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
Introduction to AI for Nonprofits with Tapp NetworkTechSoup
Dive into the world of AI! Experts Jon Hill and Tareq Monaur will guide you through AI's role in enhancing nonprofit websites and basic marketing strategies, making it easy to understand and apply.
Normal Labour/ Stages of Labour/ Mechanism of LabourWasim Ak
Normal labor is also termed spontaneous labor, defined as the natural physiological process through which the fetus, placenta, and membranes are expelled from the uterus through the birth canal at term (37 to 42 weeks
Normal Labour/ Stages of Labour/ Mechanism of Labour
Promoting affirmative action in higher education a case study of the university for development studies bridging programme
1. Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org
ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online)
Vol.4, No.9, 2013
19
Promoting Affirmative Action in Higher Education: A Case Study
of the University for Development Studies Bridging Programme
Cynthia Itboh Abagre1
Francis Issahaku Malongza Bukari2
1. Centre for Continuing Education and Interdisciplinary Research, University for Development Studies, P.
O. Box TL 1350, Tamale, Ghana. E-mail: itboh 2004@yahoo.com.
2. Department of Environment and Resource Studies Faculty of Integrated Development Studies,
University for Development Studies, P. O. Box 520, Wa Campus, Ghana. E-mail:
francismalongza@yahoo.com.
Abstract
Despite various campaigns for gender equity through affirmative action programmes, there still remains the
challenge of bridging the gender gap in education, especially at the tertiary level. In view of the idea that
mainstream literature has much to offer on advocacy issues on affirmative action for gender equity in education
rather than reports on progress, this paper contributes to filing this gap by presenting a descriptive coverage of
practical application of the concept of affirmative action by a case study report on the University for
Development Studies’ Bridging Programme for girls. Methodologically, this paper is an outcome of both
descriptive and applied research methods, in the sense that it describes the implementation process of the gender
gap bridging programme for university admissions through a female centered approach by the University for
Development Studies, by adopting existing research methodological procedures such as interview and review of
secondary data. The findings were also presented using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The major
findings indicate that before the implementation of the affirmative action measures in the university, there was a
very wide gap between the male and female student populations in favour of males, but after the bridging
programme, there was a reduction in the gender gap. It was also observed that though female beneficiaries came
in with weak academic backgrounds; usually from poorer households and/or deprived rural areas, they competed
favorably with those who were admitted with the normal admission requirements once mainstreamed into the
system. The paper concludes that affirmative action is an important tool for bridging the gender gap in education,
and recommended that the local government should support affirmative action programmes such as that of the
University for Development Studies by sponsoring needy female students to benefit from the programme.
KEYWORDS: Affirmative Action, Gender Parity, Enrolment, Gender equality.
Introduction
Girls’ education is receiving high profile policy attention in Ghana today. The attempt to create an enabling
policy environment for female education at the national level is being complemented by a growing number of
interventions undertaken by local and traditional authorities and civil society organizations such as the District
Assemblies, chiefs, queen mothers, churches, welfare organizations and girls’ associations (Education Strategic
Plan, 2007). Very little has however, been explored about gender sensitive strategies in the educational
institutions themselves beyond quota allocations in enrollment. Even with this, the task of determining whether
educational institutions especially at the tertiary level, come out with the proportional distribution of gender on
enrolment lists only after admissions have been granted, or that they follow laid-down principles to ensure equity
in distribution by gender, breeds much grounds for further enquiry.
In response to the urgent need for the promotion of equity in higher educational attainment by gender in
the country, the University for Development Studies (UDS), established a Gender Mainstreaming Unit which
initiated the Bridging Programme for Girls in 2004, with the main objective of bettering the chances of girls in
terms of educational empowerment (Office of the Registrar-UDS, 2009). In this respect, this paper presents a
picture of the programme in terms of the category of beneficiaries, the stakeholders and their roles, the
implementation process, the achievements and challenges; as these are necessary ingredients for programme
feed-back and review.
Problem Statement
Gender-based affirmative action campaigns have persisted at the international, national and local level domains
for far too long, and the observation that academic debates on the subject in the area of education in particular
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have continued unabated, is a reflection that records on the achievements of affirmative action strategies fail to
meet the expectations of gender-based development activists and other stakeholders. In particular, gender
inequality in university enrollments still remains a problem, and though various universities in Ghana express
awareness of the situation, not enough has been covered on what policy frameworks and implementation
strategies are available for redress.
The UDS Bridging Programme for girls has so far been the most dramatic intervention at the tertiary
educational level in Ghana, yet reports on the progress and achievements have remained shallowly expressed in
congregation hand-books and unpublished academic records, rather than results of comprehensive descriptive
research activities purposively designed to yield adequate information (Kumar, 1999). This paper therefore
fulfills this aspect by coming out with a comprehensive report on the UDS Bridging Programme for girls to fill
the gap in mainstream literature on the achievements of affirmative action in female educational empowerment
at the tertiary level in Ghana.
Research Question
The research question this paper sought to answer is: To what extent is the University for Development Studies
contributing to meeting the elimination of gender disparity in university education?
Literature Review
This section presents some reviewed secondary information with some policy issues and conceptual
underpinnings in the sphere of gender-based affirmative action in education, which served to provide direction
for the discussion of the results of the current study.
Girls Education and Policy influence in Ghana
Female participation in education at the pre-university level in Ghana has improved remarkably over the period
with the attainment of a gender parity index in primary education of 0.96 for the period 2006/2007 from 0.93 for
2003/2004 (Education Strategic Plan, 2007). However, the dropout rate of girls from school is still higher than
that of boys; while about 47% of boys enter the SHS after the basic education level, only 38% of girls do so.
Illiteracy rate is not only higher among females in Ghana than males, but the rate of change is also very low
(Education Strategic Plan, 2007). Consequently one out of every three young women aged 15-24, still remains
illiterate, and this does not only reduce the number of females who can proceed to tertiary level educational
institutions, but also restricts the opportunities for females to enter public life.
In view of these challenges, attempts are being made to promote female educational empowerment at
the pre-university level (especially basic school level) so that they can progress to the secondary and tertiary
levels to fill the gender gap, which has often favored males. Accordingly, Ghana as a member of the
international community has adopted the Millennium Development Goal 2 (MDG 2) which aims at achieving
universal primary education by ensuring that all children of primary school age enroll beginning from the 2000,
and by 2015 all children of school going age must have been in school. The government has shown this
commitment through policy directives and interventions like the Education Strategic Plan (ESP) for 2003-2015,
the Growth Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), and the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE).
Strategies used to implement the policies include the introduction of the Capitation Grant (School fee Abolition)
and the nutrition and school feeding programmes. However, there is still the lack of gender specific approach in
these policy provisions as they remain general. As such, for the country to achieve gender parity in education,
considerable strides have been made towards increasing the number of girls attending school. For example, in
1997 a girl’s education unit was established as part of the Basic Education Division (BED) of Ghana Education
Service (GES) to co-ordinate the implementation of activities related to girl-child education. All the above have
resulted in significant progress in the basic educational sector, especially in the past years.
However, an appalling picture is observed as one investigates the proportional distribution of
enrollment records by gender as we progress from the basic to the tertiary level. For instance, the enrolment of
girls recorded of the total student population in 2006 stood at 84.5% at the primary level, 68.7% at the JSS level
and 43.5% at the SSS level. At the tertiary level, within the same year, female participation was 33% of the total
student population (Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (MoESS), 2006). This shows that female
enrolment in the tertiary institutions of Ghana is very low. Some reasons advanced for this situation include early
marriages, socio-cultural beliefs that limit the acquisition of higher education by females in view of the notion
that women are traditionally supposed to be responsible for home-making (Apusigah, 2004; Bukari, 2009) and
poverty on the part of parents, for which reason they prefer to spend the limited resources on the males (based on
the factors enumerated earlier). Other reasons include lack of opportunities and/or the lack of awareness of some
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existing opportunities elsewhere.
The quest for the quality of the products of tertiary institutions, especially at the university level and the
influence of the job market in determining the demand for university graduates, generates competition among the
universities for quality assurance, with attendant effect of very competitive admission requirements, which most
females fail to meet as a result of the combination of household chores with academic work at the pre-university
levels. Thus, one of the immediate ways to reduce the gender gap at the tertiary level is by affirmative action.
The challenge however, remains as to how to promote higher educational attainment of women without
compromising the quality assurance drive of the Ghanaian universities. This paper therefore furnishes this
question with results of a case study of the UDS.
Conceptual Underpinnings
This study was guided by some basic concepts relating to gender and affirmative action, with a focus on how
they influence educational attainment.
The Concept of Gender
The concept of gender can be understood in many different ways, making the usefulness of the concept
dependent on the purpose of usage and the intellectual tradition in which it is being introduced (Robeyns, 2006).
Dewar (1989), in his contribution, looks at gender in a different construct. First, when gender is defined in
biological and behavioral sciences, it is examined as a personal attribute and the focus is how differences
between males and females explain the gap in their performance levels. Second, when gender is defined in socio-
cultural sciences, it is viewed as a social issue and the focus is on the analysis of the ways in which boys play
games and sport have been socially constructed to produce and legitimize male hegemony.
How the concept of gender is considered as an issue of sexual differences makes meaning only when
we begin to examine how social systems consider this in their operations. Do social institutions just understand
that males are different from females and yet expect similar outputs from both sexes when subjected to the same
operational principles? If so, why is the concept of gender necessary in theory and practice? In response to these
questions Robeyns (2006), argues that to adopt a gender perspective is to distinguish between what is natural and
biological (knowing the difference between male and female) and making use of this knowledge in social and
cultural institutional constructionism. This means that institutions should operate in manners that recognize the
different gender groups on the basis of the natural and biological determinisms in their participatory roles, and
more importantly, ensuring equality by compromise or trade-offs (some level of favoritism for identified
vulnerable groups). These may differ from one society to another, from place to place and over time.
In this paper the concept of gender is the focal issue of analysis, and attention has been geared towards
the examination of disparities in educational participation and what is being done to remedy the situation at the
tertiary level.
Society’s Construction of Gender
‘‘From the moment a girl infant is wrapped in a pink blanket and a boy infant in a blue one, gender role
development begins. The colours of pink and blue are among the first indicators used by society to distinguish
female from male. As these infants grow, other cultural artifacts will assure that this distinction remains intact.
Girls will be given dolls to diaper and tiny stoves on which to cook pretend meals. Boys will construct building
with miniature tools and wage war with toys and tank…. The incredible power of gender socialization is largely
responsible for such behaviors. Pink and blue begin this lifelong process’’ (Lindsey, 1990: 36) as cited in Nung
(1996).
From the above statement, gender roles are learned through childhood to the adult stage. In the typical
Ghanaian socio-cultural context, the definition and assignment of reproductive and productive roles to females
and males respectively, exemplify the picture presented in the literature, and how the re-thinking of the value of
reproductive and traditional roles of females in particular, are generally placed higher than the achievements like
education and career, is finding solutions to the gender disparities in tertiary education (to be more specific),
constituted the basis of enquiry in this paper, with affirmative action in the perspective.
Brief Introduction of Affirmative Action in Ghana
The development and application of the concept of affirmative action in relevant realms of the socio-economic
development of Ghana is not alien in mainstream literature. Ghana was a member of the General Assembly
which adopted the UN convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against women in 1979, and
ratified in 1986. She also participated in deliberations of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in
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1995 (WILDAF,2010). What generates interest in research is how such international policies are being
transformed to reflect in various spheres of national development where they are applicable.
At the cabinet level in Ghana, a statement of policy was issued to provide a set of guidelines for the
systematic and sustained implementation of the aspects of Affirmative Action towards equality of opportunities
for women in Ghana. The deliberations and the ratification of these treaties also yielded policies to enhance the
establishment of a more clear-cut administrative framework to ensure appropriate representation of women on all
advisory bodies to mainstream women’s issues and initiate action to satisfy women’s interests in the political,
economic and social aspects of life (Bekaako, 1998). The lack of deliberate and adequate administrative systems
or frameworks to effectively machinate this policy provision makes it difficult to identify what goes into the
implementation process, why such considerations must be taken, where they are to be carried out, and how they
should be done. This situation could lead one into a hasty conclusion that affirmative action in Ghana is
haphazardly implemented.
Rather than be at sea in the search for all areas of application of affirmative action in Ghana, an
identification of a specific field where some advances have been made could lead to the development of a model
picture of the concept. Thus, the call for affirmative action is observed to have injected some level of
transformation into the educational system: The PNDC Law 42 (1987): providing for social justice and equality
of opportunities for all, seems to have been adequately imbibed by all institutions under the various ministries of
the country, and of particular interest in this study is the educational sector. In the field of education, affirmative
action in Ghana is an option practiced to enable educational institutions to address the policy requirement for
gender equity in enrolments.
While held to be widely practiced at the tertiary education level, particularly with respect to admissions
to science-based courses, it is not clear whether all the institutions do so as a mater of discretion or in pursuance
of a well-defined or state policy. According to Sutherland (2002), senior officers of tertiary institutions
particularly the Universities, indicate that there is active positive discrimination in favour of female students.
Indeed the School of Medical Sciences in the University of Science and Technology indicated that it reserved
20% of places for female students. Even with this, the question of the effective implementation of such a policy
by university administrators to ensure the achievement of academic excellence on the part of such female
beneficiaries has not been answered. This is because there is lack of adequate information on model programmes
being implemented by individual institutions. One way to fill such a gap is by the adoption of descriptive
research approaches such as the orientation of this particular study, with the University for Development Studies
in focus.
Methodology
The study was largely descriptive in nature, which depended on both primary and secondary sources of data,
such as participant interviews and desktop study of texts from books, journals and institutional academic records.
The use of quantitative and qualitative approaches with the other methodological procedures mentioned above
made the adoption of applied research non-exclusive in the character of the study. The study design was cross-
sectional; in other words after purposively selecting beneficiaries and administrators of the UDS bridging
programme as the study population, a sample size of 14 was taken as a cross-section. The determination of the
sample size was non-statistical, it was judgmental; based on the rational decision of the researcher (Branner,
2007). In particular, in view of the ideas that the beneficiaries were fewer, unwilling to disclose their identity and
difficult to locate, snow-balling was used in a two-day exercise to obtain 10 students for interview. The narrowed
nature of the implementation process also meant that only a few university senior officials were involved. Thus,
a Research Assistant of the Gender Mainstreaming Unit, a Senior Administrative Assistant of the office of the
Registrar, the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences and one facilitating lecturer of the programme (4
university staff) were also interviewed. Table 1, presents the breakdown of the sample distribution.
Discussions
The rest of this paper looks at the of the results of the study.
The Origin of the UDS Bridging Programme for Girls
The concept of gender sensitivity in the UDS follows an existing norm for all universities in Ghana.
Considerations usually center on quota or proportionate allocation of total enrolment by gender and/or for more
difficult programme areas where normal admission requirements are taught of as not being in favour of females,
and so requiring positive discrimination (Meena, 2004; Tamale, 2004), such as the physical sciences. The
realization that females generally constitute an unsatisfactory proportion of fresh enrolments each year in the
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applied sciences generated the need for the introduction of the UDS Bridging Programme for girls in 2004,
which was facilitated by a Gender Mainstreaming Unit established by the university. The main objective of the
programme was to better the chances of girls in terms of female educational empowerment (Source: Gender
Mainstreaming Unit, UDS, October 2008). This was in pursuance of the norm of 50:50 ratio established by the
National Commission for Tertiary Education (NCTE) (2006) for male and female enrolments in all the
universities, in order to achieve gender parity. On choice of subjects, it is provided that the total enrolment for
science should be 60% and the remaining 40% for the humanities for all public universities, except for the
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology which was to admit 75% for the sciences and 25% for
the humanities. The composition of such enrolment records by gender is of paramount interest in this paper.
Female enrolment out of the total number of students admitted from five public universities in Ghana
(the University of Ghana, the University of Cape Coast, the University of Science and Technology, the
University of Education and the University for Development Studies) in 2000/01 academic year, ranged from
38% in the University of Ghana to 15% in the University for Development Studies; an indication of wide gender
inequality.
In terms of percentage composition by gender, for the sciences, enrolment records for the 2001/2002
academic year indicated that the percentage representation of females for University of Ghana, University of
Cape Coast and the University for Development Studies were 24.1%, 17.3% and 22.3% respectively (NCTE,
2006). These three universities could therefore not achieve the 50:50 target for the period beyond the 2000/2001
academic year.
Apart from the general 50:50 admission ratio set for both gender groups, there is no policy indicator as
to what percentage of females and males should be enrolled in the sciences. But it can be seen from the above
that females still lag behind males in their participation in all disciplines. In the 2005/2006 academic year for
instance, the male to female enrolment ratio was 65:35 for the universities and 70:30 for the polytechnics (NCTE,
2006).
In view of the above this situation, the UDS initiated the bridging program in 2004 to bridge the gender
gap. To facilitate this intervention, a Gender Mainstreaming Unit was established at the Faculty of Applied
Sciences, located at the Navrongo campus of the university in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The rest of this
paper is focused on the implementation process, reasons why it was necessary for girls, the progress and
achievements of UDS in that direction. A further step was taken to identify some associated challenges and
suggestions made to address the challenges.
The Implementation Process of the UDS Bridging Programme for Girls
The programme was originally meant for female Senior High School leavers with weaker grades in mathematics
and science from the catchment area (Northern Ghana), who could otherwise not have met the admission cut-
down aggregate point for the sciences, but met the minimum aggregate for university admission. Table 2
presents two samples of results female students could use for enrolment into the bridging programme.
Interested applicants were to apply for enrolment into the programme by filling and submitting
application forms, with the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results
attached, to provide the basis for short-listing. Other background factors considered in the short-listing process
include females from schools in deprived rural areas and low-income households. Short-listed applicants
were given an exclusive four weeks training in mathematics and science by lecturers from the Faculty of Applied
Sciences, after the payment of tuition fees determined by the university (Vice Chancellor’s Report, 2005).
Table 2 shows the WASSCE results of two female science students who benefited from the programme
in the 2007/2008 academic year. It could be seen that both students obtained at least six passes, but either failed
or obtained weaker grades in mathematics and other science subjects, for which reason they could not obtain
university admission by the formal procedures.
The mainstreaming process involved successful candidates of the programme being given fresh set of
university application forms to fill with the results of the bridging programme attached, in addition to the
WASSCE results. It is the parents/guardians of the admitted students who paid the actual fees, while students
receive some annual financial assistance from the MPs common Fund through their respective District
Assemblies. Other opportunities include the Social Security and National Insurance Trust Student Loan scheme,
which all Ghanaian students could apply for (Source: interview with beneficiary students, October 2009).
Reasons Why the UDS Bridging Programme for Girls was Necessary
The argument for favoritism of females through special gender-based strategies for their mainstreaming into the
UDS could not be without examining the basis for its justification. It was established in the Vice Chancellor’s
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Report (2005), that apart from its location in the Upper East Region of Ghana, the bridging programme was also
meant for girls in the catchment areas of the University (Northern Ghana). Findings on the sanity of this decision
of the university indicated that, the three Northern Regions were the poorest regions in Ghana as at the time of
the introduction of the programme (Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy, 2002-2004), and that women and girls
are the most vulnerable groups to poverty, especially in patriarchal societies like those of the Upper East Region,
Northern Region and the Upper West Region, where resource ownership and use is male dominant (Apusigah,
2004). One explanation for the high incidence of poverty in these areas is that, the unfavourable climatic
conditions, coupled with poor soil fertility makes agricultural productivity, which constitutes the major source of
income to the people low (Kwamena and Benneh, 1988). This situation has an adverse effect on female
education, as parents prefer to spend the scanty household income on the schooling of male children, since
females would eventually marry and become part of their husbands’ families.
The University’s admission of females before 2004 in the sciences was appalling with many girls
falling below the cut off point, due to their poor performance in mathematics and science subjects. This widened
the gender gap in the physical sciences, and the situation motivated the decision for a pragmatic measure to
bridge the gap.
Interviews with the sampled beneficiaries of the programme in UDS on further explanations for their
poor academic performance as females yielded the following responses:
• Too much engagement in household chores by girls at home, making little time available for learning
after normal school hours or during holidays.
• While parents spend on extra learning materials and extra classes fees for males, girls are denied from
leaving home for extra classes organized in town for reasons like, they could be impregnated by their
male counterparts and teachers out there, and the need to help their mothers at home with their
reproductive roles
• Girls are supposed to grow and be married out to men who would take care of them, and so they do not
need to learn too much to go beyond secondary school level. It is the boys who must do so because of
their future productive responsibilities.
• Any time parents complain of lack of money and education matters come up, they give priority to the
male children.
(Source: Interview with UDS Bridging Programme beneficiaries, October 2008).
Asked why they felt that tertiary education was necessary for them as women, the female beneficiaries expressed
the views that:
• Ghana has a female dominated population, so it is necessary for more women to be involved in decision
making at the national level on issues that affect women and children, and university education is one of
the conditions under which women can qualify to reach that level, like the males in politics and
administrative positions.
• The increasing cases of domestic violence against women by their husbands are because they are so
dependent that they cannot contribute to family economy and cannot do without their husbands or male
family members. Women who are in formal sector employment because of higher educational
qualifications face minimal cases of domestic violence; their husbands and family members respect
them.
• Most girls who fail to continue to the tertiary level after secondary school either become victims of
early marriage or sexual abuse, leading to teenage and unwanted pregnancies, and these worsen their
future prospects of developing themselves into responsible adult women in society.
• Girls are slow learners compared to boys, and the difficult nature of science and mathematics make
such a programme for girls necessary.
(Source: Interview with UDS Bridging Programme beneficiaries, October 2008).
These responses by the beneficiary participants were consistent with the findings of Abagre (2012) and
Bukari (2009) that socio-cultural factors militate against the educational attainment of females in northern Ghana,
and for which reason very few qualify for leadership positions in the formal sector to participate in decision
making that could liberate other women from the vulnerabilities to hash socio-cultural and economic conditions.
The UDS Bridging Programme for girls in this part of the country was therefore a good step towards addressing
these problems.
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The Progress and Achievements of the UDS Bridging Programme
A presentation of mainstream university and bridging programme enrolment figures over a period of time could
reveal a picture of the progress of the programme, in terms of the gender ratios in UDS. Figure 1 shows
mainstream university percentage enrolments by gender for nine academic years.
Figure 1, shows that percentage share of females in the enrolments was higher within the periods
2003/2004 to 2008/2009 academic years. For reasons to be discussed later, the programme period was within
these same academic years. In other words it started in the 2003/2004 academic year and ended in the 2008/2009
academic year. Thus, 2002/2003, 2009/2010 and 2010/2011, were without special considerations for girls in
UDS enrolment policy. The average percentage of females enrolled for these years calculated from Figure 1 was
15%, compared to 85% for the males. The influence of the bridging programme on the percentage ratios by
gender for the various years could be felt by relating the data in Figure 1 to the figures in Table 3.
Table 3 shows that the bridging programme was contributing significantly to the number of students
admitted into the mainstream university between 2004 and 2008, with percentage shares of the total female
population of fresh students of 61%, 48%, 56%, 41% and 27% for 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively.
The average percentage composition of female students from the programme over the period of intervention in
the Faculty of Applied Sciences was 46%.
To present a clear assessment of the achievements of the programme, we now relate this finding to the
data in Figure 1. It could be realized that within the intervention period stated above, percentages of females
enrolled into the mainstream university were 24%, 25%, 21%, 20%, 25% and 17% (Figure 1), giving an average
of 22% female composition (after the intervention) compared to 15% before the bridging programme. The
gender ratio of males to females without the programme was therefore 85:15, and that within the programme
period was 78:22. The UDS Bridging Programme for girls in the sciences was therefore contributory to bridging
the gender gap between males and females in university enrolment.
Generally therefore, the programme can best be described as a step in the right direction. For example, a
female student among the first batch who proceeded from the bridging programme to the mainstream university
programme in 2004 and in the Department of Applied Biology made it to the first class category.
Challenges of the Programme
The challenges of the UDS Bridging Programme for girls could be explained under administrative and
beneficiary categories. In terms of administrative challenges, the initial stage of compelling the
District/Municipal Assemblies to cater for the cost of training beneficiary females from their constituencies was
met by resistance. The reason given by District/Municipal Chief Executives were that, the Assembly Common
Fund was not adequate to cater for such programmes (which cost up to GH¢450 in 2008 per student), (Office of
the Gender Mainstreaming Unit-UDS, October 2008).
A second administrative problem was the inconsistency in female applicant population, but the general
picture was that the number of females looking for university admissions but falling short of the requisite
requirements was reducing. This was attributable to the increase in the length of the Senior High School duration
from three to four years; with the positive effect that majority of girls who were slow learners as a result of
integration with household chores, could now manage to improve upon their understanding of mathematics and
science subjects to get good passes. These could enable them to gain admissions into polytechnics and colleges
even if they did not meet university cut-down points. Consequently, in 2009, very few female students fell
within the category to benefit from the bridging programme, such that it was not financially feasible to organize
it. All female applicants of the Faculty of Applied Sciences in 2009 with such grades were admitted, forcing the
bridging programme to come to an end (Interview with the Dean, FAS-UDS, August 2009)
Other parents could not meet the financial obligations of preparing the girls to go and stay for the four
weeks of training. It was also possible for some girls to go through the training and to gain admission to the
mainstream university, but would not be able to pay the actual university admission fee. According to some of
the interviewees, this situation resulted from the fact that the double payment for training and admission fees was
unbearable to some parents, and on the basis of this the programme could not be said to be pro-poor. In 2008 for
instance, the training fee was GH¢450, while the admission fee for fresh Applied Science Students in UDS was
GH¢650 for the same year. A student who gained admission through the programme in that year paid a total
amount of GH¢1,100. Accordingly, of the 47 students who were given admission, two students could not report
for failure to pay the actual admission fee.
Additionally, the participants were of the view that they were often over loaded with much difficult
topics in mathematics and science within the short period of four weeks of training. This raised fear as to
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whether they could be able to cope up with the actual course when mainstreamed into the main university course
of study in the sciences.
Conclusion
Affirmative action in education provides initiatives that helped women to achieve levels of academic attainment
that were denied to them until very recently. It prepares women for fields in engineering, medicine, business,
mathematics and science, and other vocations which have been traditionally, and sometimes exclusively,
occupied by men.
Dismantling affirmative action in education would result in severe backsliding, contrary to the national
value of improving educational opportunities for all. It is therefore not out of place that gender parity in schools
has become one of the policy issues in Ghana since the call for affirmative in 1975.UDS, Kwame Nkrumah
University for Science and Technology and University of Cape Coast have adopted various programmes aimed
at giving the females with weak backgrounds in science and mathematics , who could not have entered the
University to be enrolled.
University for Development Studies in conformity with the ideals of affirmative action adopted the
Bridging Programme to enable more girls to be enrolled into the University especially in the sciences. Thus in
sum, the research question is answerable with the results that, the proportion of women in the total student
population has improved since the introduction of affirmative action programmes in the University. Furthermore
beneficiaries are measuring up to expectations with some ranking among the best students in the sciences.
Recommendations
District Assemblies should reconsider the use of the Assembly and MP Common Funds in the area of tertiary
education with special provision for vulnerable groups, such as gender and level of socio-economic deprivation.
The registration fee should also be reviewed to enable many students to enroll.
Apart from reviewing the syllabus for the program, the topics to be treated with respect to the duration
of the program should also be given a second look. The program should not be limited to the Faculty of Applied
Sciences alone. Other Faculties should be made to run the program. This is because passes in mathematics and
science are not only pre-requisites for admissions into university science programmes, but also in the humanities.
In view of the positive effects of the programme on the gender ratio in UDS, the programme should be
remounted and other universities should adopt it. Further steps should be taken to ensure that most Senior High
Schools (SHS) in the country particularly those in the rural areas are made aware of the program for prospective
applicants to benefit from it.
References
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Development Studies. Tamale, Ghana.
Acheampong, K. P. (2008). The Earth: Themes and Variations. Asafo- Kumasi, Ghana: Sandy Prints.
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Table 1: Sample Distribution of interviewees
Status of interviewees Sex Number Percentage
Senior Administrative Assistant of the
Office of the Registrar
Male 1 1% (approx.)
Dean of Faculty Male 1 1% (approx.)
Admin Assistant of the Gender
Mainstreaming Unit
Female 1 1% (approx.)
Facilitating lecturer Male 1 1% (approx.)
Students/beneficiaries Female 10 96%
Total - 14 100%
Source: This study, 2008
Table 2: Sample Results for Enrolment into the UDS Bridging Programme for Girls
Grades
Subjects Student A Student B
- Social Studies D5 E8
- Core Mathematics F9 D7
- Integrated Science D7 E 8
- English D5 D7
- Biology D7 D8
- Chemistry D7 F9
- Physics E8 D8
- Elective Mathematics F9 F9
Source: Gender Mainstreaming Unit-UDS, October 2008.
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ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online)
Vol.4, No.9, 2013
28
Figure 1: Student Admission by year and Gender in the Faculty of Applied Sciences (2002/2003 to
2010/2011)
(Source: Office of the Dean, FAS-UDS, October 2012).
Table 3: Admissions to the UDS Bridging Programme over five years
Year Number of Applicants for the
UDS Females Bridging
Programme
No. Admitted Percentage share of
total females admitted
2004 31 28 61% of 46
2005 32 30 48% of 63
2006 34 34 56% of 61
2007 40 39 41% of 95
2008 47 45 27% of 163
2009 0 0 0
Total 184 176
Source: Office of the Registrar (UDS-FAS, October 2008).
2011