General News of Thursday, 29 October 1998

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ISODEC and district assembly institute scholarship scheme

Kenyasi (Brong Ahafo) 28 Oct '98 The Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), a non-government organisation, has in conjunction with the Asutifi district Assembly, established a 14-million-cedi education endowment fund to promote girl-child education in the district. A minimum of 50 girls in basic schools and those pursuing science and mathematics-related subjects at the senior secondary level would be granted scholarships under the fund every year to encourage parents to send their daughters to school. The Brong Ahafo regional director of ISODEC, Mr Kwesi Esseku, who disclosed this yesterday, said female enrolment in the district is low. Out of the 500 student-population of OLA girls secondary school at Kenyase, the district capital, only ten of them hail from the area. Mr Esseku was addressing a day's forum organised jointly by ISODEC and the district assembly to identify the causes of low female enrolment in schools. The forum which was attended by queen mothers, assembly members and representatives of other identifiable groups, listed poverty, illiteracy and unemployment as some of the causes of the low perception of female education in the area.