Sekondi, Oct. 01, GNA - Madam Sophia Horner-Sam, Deputy Western Regional Minister, on Friday said gender and geographical disparities in access to basic education still exist in the country. She was launching communication materials to accelerate the promotion of girls' education in the region in Sekondi.

Madam Horner-Sam said the country set a target to achieve gender equity in education in 1995 under the Free, Compulsory Basic Education (FCUBE) Programme and the Education Strategy Plan (ESP), which was to end this year.

She said the fact that the target has not been achieved 10 years after the institution of the FCUBE Programme, underscores the need to increase promotion of Girl-Child education.

Madam Horner-Sam said gender equity in education is tied up to the Millennium Development Goals, which earmarked the achievement of gender equity in basic education by 2005.

Madam Horner-Sam said the other target of the Millennium Development Goals with regards to basic education was that, "Every child of school going age completes a full cycle of primary education by 2015".

She said although there has been improvement in enrolment over the years, gender disparities still existed in the region. Madam Horner-Sam said female enrolment in basic schools is getting better because in 2004/05 academic year female enrolment was 50.4 per cent as against 48 per cent in 2003/04 and 47.9 per cent in 2002/03. She said the communication materials, which included stickers; posters and pamphlets were to be used for a promotion exercise to ensure many females enrol in basic schools.

Madam Horner-Sam said this would help realise the target for gender equity in education set for this year.

She said causes of low enrolment of girls in some districts of the region, included inability of parents to bear the cost of education, to provide adequate food for their children and long distance from school. Miss Theresa Dickens, Regional Coordinator of Girls' Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES), said the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and the GES developed the communication materials. She urged district coordinators of the Girls' Education Unit to make use of the materials to promote girl-child education in their areas.