IMPACT OF SCHOOL CAPITATION GRANT ON SCHOOL ENROLMENT, GENDER PARITY, PERFORMANCE AND RETENTION IN PUBLIC BASIC SCHOOLS IN TAMALE METROPOLIS OF THE NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

The Capitation Grant Scheme is one of the national policies in Ghana that is geared towards improving basic education. Under the Ghana School Capitation Grant Scheme (GSCGS), every public basic school receives a grant with a specified rate per pupil. Studies have shown that in the Tamale Metropolis, school enrolment at the basic level has improved due to the introduction of the Capitation Grant Scheme (CGS). However, available statistics have revealed falling standard of education at the Basic Education Certificate level in the Tamale Metropolis is rising. This study seeks to analyse the impact of the CGS on school enrolment, gender parity, performance and retention in public basic schools in the Tamale metropolis using mainly descriptive analysis. The results showed that the Capitation Grant Scheme had impacted positively on enrolment in schools without any significant improvement in academic performance after the introduction of the scheme. The findings also showed a positive but insignificant impact of the scheme on Gender Parity. It revealed that, the Capitation Grant had no significant effect on the quality of teaching and learning. The factors which had significant influence on parents‟ decisions to enrol their wards in public basic schools in the Tamale metropolis are proximity of school to parent‟s home, Capitation Grant Scheme, adequate infrastructure, the existence of Arabic education, peer group influence, lower school fees and the quality of teaching staff. The recommendations are direct measures that can be executed to strengthen the application of the school Capitation Grant Scheme in order to ensure quality and improved performance in our schools especially, in the Tamale metropolis and beyond.