Jemima AchivorsGhana’s Free Senior High School Education Policy for students admitted into the various public Senior High Schools (SHS) exempts them from paying fees. The implementation of the policy saw increased admissions of students including girls’ enrollment which more than doubled.
Around the World, 129 million girls including 67 million of Senior High School are out of school. The Policy could therefore open access for more girls to obtain Senior High School Education.
Challenges
The increased admissions have however led to overstretched infrastructure and facilities at the various schools. The Hohoe E.P Senior High School in the Volta Region was not exempt from the challenges as it grappled with a congested girls’ dormitory. The phenomenon did not only militate against Girls’ access to secondary Education, but also led to Poor observance of the Covid-19 safety protocol on social distancing.
Intervention
Care Net Ghana collaborated with Spanish NGOs, AEXCID and SED ONGD and are together constructing a more spacious 360 bed capacity girls’ dormitory for the school. The 2 storey girls’ dormitory will also be fitted with better and modern washroom facilities.
Our decision to assist the school was borne out of the dire conditions under which the female students lived due to the congestion challenges. The idea for the project was initiated since 2018 after we witnessed and assessed the accommodation needs of the school.
Together, we also provided the students and management of the school with some detergents, sanitisers, hand washing liquid and veronica buckets in order to promote frequent WASH practices as a measure to keep COVID-19 at bay.
Impact
The facility would not only provide the girls with much needed space but also ensure that their hygiene and sanitation needs were well taken care of and significantly improve the girls’ retention in school.
