Some female pupils in the Northern Region have appealed to the government and the Ghana Education Service (GES) to take pragmatic steps to improve education standards across the country particularly in the rural areas where educational facilities are poor.

Miss Agbozo Promise, a pupil of Kpandai D.A. Junior High School, made the appeal on behalf of 250 pupils who attended a regional girls’ camp in Tamale.

She said there was disparity between the rural education settings and that most of the rural schools lack teachers and teaching and learning materials, hence their inability to compete with urban pupils.

The annual regional girls’ camp on the theme; “Empowering girls through education, a brighter future” was organized by the Center for Active Learning and Integrated Development (CALID) and supported by Action Aid-Ghana, Ibis and Songtaba, all NGOs.

Miss Agbozo said there had been numerous supports from NGOs but despite that, there was still a lot to be done by the government and stakeholders to uplift the standard of education in rural areas by giving equal facilities and teachers to the rural areas as pertains in urban areas.

Mr. Alhassan Issahak, the Northern Regional Coordinating Director, said any nation that wanted to develop holistically must prioritize female education to ensure that both sexes are given equal access and compared development as synonymous to female empowerment.

He appealed to girls to be role models in their communities and take their studies very seriously having the conviction that they could make it despite all the difficulties that they experience in rural settings.

Mr. Issahak appealed to the traditional authorities to remove all traditional barriers that still hinder female education.

Mr. William Aboakye, Action-Aid Northern Regional Education Officer, said the girls’ camp concept was started in 2000 by Action-Aid as an annual affair where females were brought to the urban areas to be educated on issues including non-curricular activities.

He said it had grown to become a national programme that is encouraging more female students to stay focused and remain in school.