Plan International project to encourage girls to study Maths, Science
There is a wrong perception among some female students who perceive Science and Mathematics as ‘difficult subjects’ and a no-go area where they cannot study to perform creditably.
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To correct this impression, the Central Programme Unit (CPU) of Plan International Ghana, a child rights Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) is implementing a project in the Ekumfi District in the Central Region to motivate girls to develop interest in the study of Science and Mathematics at the junior high school (JHS) level.
The project, which is dubbed ‘Girls Rising Project’, is being implemented for some selected girls in 13 basic schools who are drawn from 10 beneficiary coastal communities in the district, and funded from a grant from the Japanese Citizens Watch Company.
The beneficiary schools are Otuam T.I. Ahmadiyya JHS, Otuam Methodist Junior High School, Srafa Aboano D/A JHS, Immuna Islamic JHS and Ebiram Methodist JHS. The rest are Ekumpoano Catholic JHS, Arkra D/A JHS, Narkwa Methodist JHS, Narkwa D/A JHS, Asafa Methodist JHS, Edumfa Catholic JHS and Suprudu Methodist JHS .
Awareness creation
Strategies that preceded the implementation of the project included awareness creation in the communities in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service, the Ghana Health Service and opinion leaders.
There were also community sensitisation, mentoring of girls, formation of Mathematics and Science clubs in the beneficiary schools, refresher courses for Science and Mathematics teachers, as well as in-kind scholarship for some girls who are in dire need of support in order to remain in school.
According to the Central Programme Unit (CPU) Manager of Plan International Ghana, Mr Richard Boadu, the programme is intended to ensure the attainment of at least 50 per cent grade score in Maths and Science for 100 girls from the 10 marginalised communities, as well as ensure that 60 per cent of the participating girls pursued maths and science-related courses at the senior high school level.
Also, it is to promote the girls knowledge of adolescent sexual reproductive health management, leadership and child rights.
Sensitisation events
Again, members of the beneficiary communities were sensitised to activities aimed at promoting girls’ education, as well as encouraging the girls to effectively learn both subjects. Additionally, about 1,152 girls were reached with sensitisation programmes that emphasised the importance of Science and Maths, as well as why girls should be motivated to study both subjects.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, Mr Boadu said as part of the project, a camp was held for 100 girls with the objective of exposing the beneficiaries to a new environment and to encourage them to aspire to higher levels of education. It also enabled them to interact with their peers from different communities, as well as professional women who would serve as their future role models.
They treated topics such as children’s rights and responsibilities, child abuse, adolescent reproductive health, personal hygiene and Plan International as an NGO.
The rest were teenage pregnancy and prevention of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, importance of Science and Mathematics in sustainable development, career counselling and mentoring, gender, leadership roles and responsibilities, adolescent social change and challenges, as well as peer to peer education on health.
Science and Maths clubs
Consequently, Girls’ Maths and Science clubs have been formed and inaugurated in the schools as part of efforts to get the girls more engaged in learning the subjects. The clubs are to motivate them to learn and teach their peers through group discussions, quiz competitions and also to expose them to science equipment through visits to science resource centres.
In all, 14 clubs have been formed in schools in the beneficiary areas with a total membership of 520.
Some Maths and Science teachers from those schools, numbering about 26, were taken through a four-day refresher workshop to adequately prepare them on how to teach the subjects and assist the girls to have interest in both subjects in order to excel in both internal examinations and in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
It was intended to help the participants to acquire new techniques in preparing charts for teaching Science, to learn new methods of making the teaching and learning of both subjects more child-friendly and to learn new ways of improvising teaching and learning materials.
Also, it enabled them to learn different approaches to the teaching of both subjects at the JHS level and to become conversant with how to make lessons interesting for the girls in particular.
Scholarship scheme
He also said Plan International Ghana was implementing a scholarship scheme for 120 girls to ensure that the inability of parents to provide for the educational needs of their daughters did not affect their education, but rather, enable most girls to remain in school to pursue their future aspirations.
To this end, school uniforms, footwear, exercise books and school bags have been distributed to brilliant girls in the beneficiary areas so as to ensure that they did not drop out of school.
During a visit to distribute these items to the girls last Thursday, Mr Boadu mentioned that research conducted by his outfit pointed to the fact that most of the girls dropped out of school after failing Maths and Science in the BECE.
He explained that the project was subsequently designed to address the problem by forming Science and Maths clubs in some selected communities, as well as the setting up of a scholarship scheme to cater for some of the educational needs of the needy girls.
He expressed optimism that the beneficiaries would take advantage of their interventions to excel in both subjects so as to further their education to the senior high and tertiary levels.
He further urged them to disabuse their minds of the perception that both subjects were difficult but rather study them effectively to enable them to perform creditably in them.