CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Women were gaining increasing access to educational programs at all levels during the twentieth century. Feminists of different orientations have contributed significantly to gender awareness and empowerment politics, as well as problems of equal opportunity and access to resources such as property, money, and education, throughout time (Chege & Sifuna, 2006). Girls' education is now seen as a key predictor of a variety of development indices, including national fertility rates, infant mortality, family income, and productivity. Girls' education has been identified by World Bank economists as the one development initiative with the highest individual and societal benefits (Brent, 2005). Girls' education is not only important as a social indicator or an engine for economic development that leads to improved health, economy, security, liberty, and participation in social and political activities, but it also has the potential to yield a higher rate of return than any other investment available in the developing world (World Bank, 2002). According to a UNICEF study from 2004, girls' education leads to more equal development, stronger families, better services, better child health, and effective government involvement. Despite the apparent advantages of education for national development, research shows that females are more likely than boys to drop out of school. Furthermore, the study shows that females completed elementary education at a lower rate than boys, with 76 percent compared to 85 percent for boys. As a result of the gender divide, a million more girls than boys drop out of school each year. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the number of females out of school increased from 20 million in 1990 to 24 million in 2002, according to UNICEF (2004). According to the study, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific account for 83 percent of all females out of school worldwide. A deeper look at the statistics, according to the United Nations Millennium Project (2005), reveals that girls' enrollment rates are still low in most areas. According to data from a study of 8,000 primary schools conducted by the ministry of education in 2002, Kenya's primary school dropout rate was estimated to be 5.4 percent, and the completion percentage has long been below 50 percent. In the North Eastern and Nyanza provinces, it was discovered that more girls than boys were dropping out. In 1993, 15.2 percent of girls and 15.6 percent of boys repeated, compared to 12.9 percent for females and 13.5 percent for boys in 2002. ( Chege and Sifuna,2006). Although it was uncertain if grade repetition improved the likelihood of completion, it was obvious that grade repetition widened the age range, increasing the risk of dropping out. Due to high grade repetition, children who were older were under more pressure to produce money for the family and were more likely to drop out. Sabates, Kwame, Westbrook, and Hunt (2010) reference EPDC's 2009 report. According to the 2011 Economic Survey, almost 400,000 students participating in the free primary education program did not finish standard eight. They were compelled to drop out or retake the course, with just 59 percent completing it. Girls made up a higher proportion of dropouts. This raised concerns about the high amount of waste in schooling due to repetition and dropout. According to a study published by CSA in Kenya, approximately 35 percent of females aged 16 to 20 were enrolled in school, compared to about 50 percent of boys. Every year, the government loses an estimated $750,000 for every 10,000 females who drop out of school (Muganda & Omondi, 2010). Dropouts confront many challenges in today's global economic climate, where employment are few and the kinds of occupations accessible to school dropouts are shrinking as technology advances. Countries attempting to achieve Universal Primary Education must reduce waste, including dropout. In Rachuonyo North District, the female child dropout issue is extremely severe. According to records, the average dropout rate in certain public elementary schools is 70 percent. It is instructive to revisit the dropout issue at this time in order to identify new paths that need to be explored in order to reduce or eliminate dropout and therefore enhance the efficiency of current educational systems. Following the conference in New York attended by 147 heads of state when the MDGs were established, the Session Paper No. 1 of 2005 was launched with the goal of achieving Education for All by 2015. This document was created by the Kenyan government as a roadmap to compensate for growing inequities and imbalances in all aspects of nation-building. However, difficulties persisted, particularly in terms of sustainability, parity, access, and equality, as well as the initiative's complete execution ( Boit , 2008). According to the Economic Survey (2011), both boys and girls enrolled in elementary school at almost the same rates. In upper primary, the disparity began to grow as more girls than boys left school in some areas of the nation. Each year, between 10,000 and 13,000 Kenyan girls drop out of school owing to pregnancy. Less than half of secondary school students were female. Girls' dropout rates in schools between the ages of 13 and 18 are presently projected to be 45 percent, compared to 37 percent for males. The dropout rate of females in Nyanza province was 29 percent owing to pregnancy alone ( KHDS, 2004). Based on an estimate of 10,000 females dropping out of school each year, the government loses around Ksh. 60 million each year. Muganda and Omondi (2010) also found that, although females enrolled in elementary schools at greater rates than boys, fewer girls finished primary school and enrolled in secondary schools.

1.2 Statement of the problem

What causes females to drop out of school and how they feel after they drop out are vastly different. Education is a basic right that everyone should have, but what are we doing to guarantee that girls have equal access to it? We need to teach the girls about life's realities so that they may make educated choices. However, there are many variables to examine when determining why females drop out of school, including family history, gender prejudice, sociocultural, economic, and parental educational level, to name a few. A Survey Study On Dropout Situation Of Females Students At The Basic School Level: An Assessment Of The Girls Education Unit's Intervention In Northern Ghana is conducted against this backdrop.

1.3 Objective of the study

The primary objective of the study is as follows

1)        To examine the reason why girls drop out of basic school

2)        To examine the effects dropping out of school has on girls

3)        To investigate if theres any government policy to help stop girls from dropping out of school

4)        To find out if theres a way to improve girls attendance in school and reduce the rate at which they drop out.

1.4 Research Questions

The following questions have been prepared for this study

1.        What are the factors that leads to girls dropping out of school?

2.        What are the effect of girls dropping out of school?

3.        Are  there any government policy to help stop girls from dropping out of school?

4.        are there ways to improve girls attendance in school and reduce the rate at which they drop out.?

1.5       Significance of the study

The significance of this study cannot be underestimated as:

l  This study will examine A Survey Study On Dropout Situation Of Females Students At The Basic School Level: An Assessment Of The Girls Education Unit's Intervention In Northern Ghana.

l  The findings of this research work will undoubtedly provide the much needed information to government organizations, ministry of education and academia

1.6       Scope of the study

This study will examine A Survey Study On Dropout Situation Of Females Students At The Basic School Level: An Assessment Of The Girls Education Unit's Intervention In Northern Ghana.it will also, examine the reason why girls drop out of basic school it will also,  examine the effects dropping out of school has on girls.furthermore,it will  investigate if there is any government policy to help stop girls from dropping out of school.hence the study will be delimited to staff of Girls Education Unit's Intervention In Northern Ghana.

1.7       Limitation of the study

This study was constrained by a number of factors which are as follows:

 just like any other research, ranging from unavailability of needed accurate materials on the topic under study, inability to get data

Financial constraint , was faced by  the researcher ,in getting relevant materials  and  in printing and collation of questionnaires

Time factor: time factor pose another constraint since having to shuttle between writing of the research and also engaging in other academic work making it uneasy for the researcher

1.8       Definition of terms

Dropout: stop participating or being involved in something.

Basic school level: a school providing the level of education from kindergarten up to the junior high school level.

REFERENCES

Boit, L. (2008) National policies and practices for education skills and sustainable growth: (Online) Available: http://www.norrag.org/issues/article/1112/en/national-policies (September 5, 2012)

Brent, N. (2005). Achieving the promise of girls’ education strategies to overcomegender based violence. In Beninese schools.

Chege, F.,&Sifuna, D.N. (2006). Girls’ and Women’s education in Kenya gender perspectives and trends

Economic survey,(2011, May 19). More than 400,000 pupils did not complete standard eight last year. The Daily Nation.

Muganda,R.,&Omondi,M. (2010).Down the drain: Counting the cost of teenagepregnancy and school drop out in Kenya. Nairobi

UNICEF, (2004).The state of the world’s children.Girls’ education and development 434-35.

United Nations Millennium Project,(2005). Taking action: Achieving gender equality empowering women.

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