Dalun (N/R), Aug 4, GNA - Over 5,151 students of the School For life (SFL), a non formal school system for shepherd boys and girls, have since September 2008 been integrated into the formal school system. The number is made up of 2,874 boys and 2,277 girls.

Prof Abubakr Al-Hassan, Chairman of the Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA), said this at the 25th Annual General Meeting of the Association in Dalun in the Tolon/Kumbungu District at the weekend.

The GDCA is an umbrella non-governmental organization made up of the SFL, the Community Life Improvement Project (CLIP) and Simli Pong, all working to improve upon the living conditions of the people in the Northern Region. Prof Al-Hassan said out of 8,455 learners enrolled in the SFL in October last year, 3,683 were girls and 4,772 boys, representing 43.6 and 56.4 percents respectively.

He said learner retention was 98.7 percent as 8,343 graduated from the initial enrollment of 8,455 learners. This is made up of 4,697 boys and 3,646 girls.

He said 25,000 children were now able to read and write as a result of the interventions of the SFL and its partners. Prof Al-Hassan said under the USAID funded Ambassador's Girls Scholarship Programme, scholarships were disbursed to 680 needy girls and 300 boys in nine of the SFL operational districts of the programme. He said 11,000 individuals mainly women had also benefited from micro-credit schemes that had improved their businesses and families. Mr. Stephen Sumani Nayina, Northern Regional Minister in a speech read for him, commended the GDCA for its interventions in education and community development.

He said the government would continue to make education accessible especially to the poor by continuing with the school feeding programme and the capitation grant. 04 Aug 09