ACHIEVING GENDER PARITY IN ENROLLMENT THROUGH CAPITATION GRANT AND SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAMME IN NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA. A MYTH OR A REALITY?

Abstract

The government of Ghana has used many strategies including the Capitation Grant, the School Feeding Programme and recently the distribution of free school uniforms to pupils in basic school to improve enrollment and attendance in basic schools in Ghana. The Capitation Grant and the School Feeding Programme were not directed first at improving enrollment and attendances of pupils in basic schools, but it had unintended positive effects on enrollment and in many cases attendance in the rural communities in the Northern Region of Ghana. This paper is based on empirical analysis of whether the Capitation Grant and the School Feeding programme have really addressed disparity in enrollment and attendance in basic school in the rural areas in the Northern Region. The data were collected through interviews, case studies and observations of the activities within the operations of the programmes relevant to enrollment and attendance of pupils to school. The study found that though enrollment figures of both males and females in basic schools in the rural areas have increased since the implementation of the programmes, gender parity index in enrollment favors the females while disparity in school attendance favors the males thus, more males attend school than females. It was again found that parity in enrollment and attendance is not sustainable in the rural communities, it was difficult to achieve parity in school enrollment and attendance as a result of the Capitation Grant and the School Feeding Programme and therefore, it is a myth rather than a reality