COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR GIRL-CHILD SCHOOL ATTENDANCE IN GHANA: THE CASE OF WINNEBA IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF GHANA

ABSTRACT The study was intended to find out the extent to which the Winneba community support the girl-child school attendance. It was specifically designed to find out the attitude of the Winneba community towards girl-child education. The basic research question that guided the study was: How does the Winneba community perceive girl-child education and what kind of support does the community provide towards girl-child school attendance? Questionnaire and interview schedules were prepared and used to collect data from the community notable personnel such as the District Chief, Executive, Heads of government departments, Assembly persons , traditional rulers and leaders of the two Asafo groups as well as from a random sample of community members . In all 380 respondents were involved in the study. Two hundred (200) respondents were interviewed while 180 respondents answered questionnaire. The researcher used percentages sand frequencies to analyse the data collected . The findings of the study showed that: Respondents show positive attitudes towards girl-child education. Generally, parents have high educational aspirations for their boys. Most parents want education for their children for better jobs and earnings especially for their girls. Parental support for the girl-child education at Winneba is found to be quite high in the provision of school uniforms, payment of school levies and encouragement through guidance and counselling . Most parents also provide transport to and from school, early breakfast, and money for lunch to keep their girl-children in school. Some parents also provide academic facilities at home to facilitate the girl-child learning. Financial constraints prevent some parents from supporting their girl~child education . Based on the findings of the study it is recommended that public education on the need for girl-child education be intensified in the Winneba community. There is a need for the strengthening of the special education fund by the District Assembly to support the education of children, particularly the needy girls in the Winneba community. The private sector should be encouraged to create jobs for parent to earn income and send their girl-children to school and to be able to cater for them . Family planning programmes should be intensified in the Winneba community, since with limited financial resources parents cannot support the education of their children especially the education of girls to any appreciable level, the children are capable of pursuing.