US$156 million has approved by parliament to finance the Ghana Secondary School Education Improvement Project which includes the building of 23 new SHSs,upgrading of 75 existing SHSs,expansion of 50 schools to increase capacity to absorb more students Out of this amount $15.6 million would be used to give scholarship to 10,400 students to pursue secondary education. Each beneficiary would receive an estimated amount of $500 for an academic year of 3 terms for 3 years summing up to $1,500 per student depending on the varying needs of each student. The criteria for the selection of the beneficiaries include a) any student who takes care of himself or herself b)disabled students without support c)orphans without support d)students living HIV/AIDS e)students from LEAP beneficiary households f)a student in a household with income below the minimum wage g)a student from a single parent family with low income h)a student whose parents or guardians are all unemployed i)a student whose parents or guardians are living with a disability j) a student from a large household unable to afford to send all children to school k) a teenage mother without support and i)a student with sickle cell disease. Bicycles would be provided to some of these students who travel long distances to study in other schools far from their communities. Solar lamps would also be provided to some of these beneficiaries particularly those in areas without electricity to faciliate learning outside school hours, teachers and other educational workers would also be trained to ensure quality improvement in science and mathematics and also the improvement of quality education in some 125 selected low perfoming schools across the country The 10,400 beneficiaries would also benefit from school uniform fabrics,sewn school uniform,school sandals and bags,note books,pens and pencils,rulers,supplementary readers,math sets,sanitary pads and other approved fees and levies on the students bill. Special emphasis would however be placed on promoting girl-child education and and supporting students from low income families. Beneficiaries who are boys,obviously would not use sanitary pads. Now,how many of the beneficiaries of this scholarship which has sanitary pads as just part of the items to be received would be girls? Let us just say about 60% of the would-be beneficiaries of 10,400 students are girls. That would translate into 6,240 girls. Not even all these girls under the scholarship package would be using these sanitary pads because their needs are different. But for the purpose of this discussion,let us agree on that 6,240 girls who would be using sanitary pads. What is wrong with the state spending money on 6,240 girls by buying sanitary pads for school girls in some deprived communities across the country who would also benefit from other packages accompanying the scholarship in achieving some desired results in encouraging those girls to come to the classroom to learn when they have their menses? Some of you may not appreciate the significance of this gesture because you have no idea what level of poverty and deprivation exists in the countryside One would ask:how sustainable is this?. Government can not continue to be providing sanitary pads for these young girls forever. Some policies are not meant to be implemented throughout the lifetime any beneficiary(ies). This is just a way of meeting halfway the critical needs of these selected girls from very deprived homes. Why then is there so much focus on SANITARY PADS which is just a fraction of what some selected girls out the 10,400 students would be receiving as part of this scholarship package? Because some media houses have reported that $156 million has been approved to buy sanitary pads? Cast your doubts all you want and dismiss the significance of this gesture but l am all for it. My only concern is that monies to be expended on this project which is not limited to sanitary pads would be judiciously used and accounted for.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 09:45:37 +0000
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