Education Director bemoans girls' drop-out rate

Mr. Benedict Yindol, Bawku Municipal Director of Education has bemoaned the persistent drop out of girls from schools at the basic level in the Municipality.

Mr. Yindol expressed his lamentation in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bawku and said the trend was worrying to the educational authorities and other like minded stakeholders in the area, adding that the consequences of the phenomenon could be alarming if stringent affirmative actions were not taken to arrest the situation.

Mr. Yindol attributed girls’ drop-out to lack of good parental care; indicating that most parents still saw little importance in girls’ education, hence the reluctance to encourage them to pursue education to its fullest at the basic level.

He urged parents and other stakeholders to see girls’ education as important, and contribute towards its development because girls play vital roles in the development of the country.

The Municipal Director disclosed that candidates registered to write this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) in the Bawku Municipality total 3,706.

The candidates, he said, are made up of 1,973 boys and 1,733 girls, and are expected to write at eight designated West African Examinations Council (WAEC) standard centres in the Bawku area.

Mr. Yindol said the examination was a basic criterion used in selecting students at the basic level to further pursue the appropriate courses which are technical, vocational or secondary.

He further disclosed that about 1, 095 candidates are writing the 2014 May-June West Africa Senior High Certificate Examinations (WASSCE), while 576 are sitting for the 2014 May-June National Board for Professional and Technical Examinations (NABPTE) in the Municipality.

The Bawku Municipal Examinations Officer, Mr. Adams Saheed, urged the candidates to be of good conduct during the examination period.

He wished the candidates the best of luck, and urged supervisors and invigilators to be guided by the rules and regulations governing the examinations.