THE ROLE OF NGOs IN PROMOTING GIRL CHILD EDUCATION IN SAVELUGU - NANTON DISTRICT IN THE NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

The level of development of a people depends largely on their level of education . In Ghana, education is a fundamental right of every Ghanaian guaranteed by the 1992 constitution of the Republic of Ghana. In spite of this, the rate of illiteracy supersedes that of literacy, especially among girls and women. This called for intervention from world bodies and state agencies, as well as benevolent and Non-Governmental Organizations. Lots of resources have been poured into salvaging the situation, yet it does not seem to be any better. This study sought to find out the factors which have led to the low involvement of girls in education despite NGO interventions. This was done by collecting primary data from eighty respondents in Savelugu- Nantong District in the Northern Region of Ghana, using questionnaires and interview guide survey approach. Secondary data were also collected from such sources as books in libraries and the internet. The data were analyzed using qualitative and qualitative methods with the aid of Excel and SPSS computer software. From the secondary data sources, the research found that a lot of factors played together to impede girls education all over the world. They included poverty, cultural believes and traditional practices, teenage pregnancy, early marriage, gender roles, nature of education systems and insecurity. But the survey on the study area found that, from the NGO perspective, the most dominant cause was Teenage Pregnancy while Poor Parenting was identified as the most common cause by the community respondents followed by Poverty. Though the study found that the service provided by the NGO was substantial and critical to promoting girls education, it was found that the service provided was not enough to meet the challenge squarely. The study also found that other stakeholders fell short of meeting their responsibilities such that; the government as an overall service provider was not doing enough, some parents declined to send their girl children to school, the compliance of the beneficiaries with the NGO directives was weak and the community collaboration with NGO was bellow expectation. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that parents, as prime custodians of children, need be well oriented on their responsibility to educate their wards, particularly the girls. Government has to provide the necessary support so that the NGO, with well developed and strengthened capacities, can advocate this in the communities using realistic approaches; whiles opinion leaders and beneficiary families ensure high level of cooperation