Tumu, Aug 23, GNA - Madam Esther Boateng, Programme Manager of ActionAid Ghana, non-governmental organisation, has identified violence against girls in school as a common phenomenon in Sissala East District. She said the issues include sexual harassment, abuse by male teachers, forced marriages, elopement and abduction.

Madam Boateng was addressing 93 Junior High School Girls at the 2009 ActionAid Girls Camp and Science, Technology and Mathematics Education Clinic at Tumu, on Saturday.

The girls, drawn from Junior High Schools from the Tumu, Wellembelle, Bujan, Nabulo and Kunchogu Circuits are attending the one week course, aimed at raising their consciousness and confidence in the learning of Science and Mathematics.

It is on the theme: "Empowering girls through education: Safe school, better performance" to encourage girl child education through confidence building and the acquisition of skills and attitude that would make them better future leaders. Madam Boateng said the abuses had contributed to high school drop out among young girls and called for drastic and pragmatic measures to address them to help achieve the Millennium Development Goal on Gender Parity.

She said the vision of the NGO had been: "A world without poverty and injustice in which every all enjoy their rights to live with dignity," and that violence against girls was its urgent priority, which must be addressed now to guarantee girls' education.

She said the NGO would continue to strengthen its working relationship with the Ghana Education Service and Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) to ensure that the rights of girls to quality education was protected, promoted and fulfilled. The ActionAid Programme Manager said the NGO would use its Community-Based Anti Violence Teams formed in some selected communities to monitor the progress of the girls at school and protect them from falling prey to men in their communities.

Madam Alijata Sulemana, Sissala East District Chief Executive, who opened the clinic, said the perception that Science and Mathematics were difficult subjects had impacted negatively on the learning and teaching of those subjects in schools.

She said government would place the education of the girl child high on its agenda to help uplift the social, economic and political status of women.

Madam Sulemana said violence against girls had been a major challenge facing the district in its quest to provide quality basic education for the girl-child. She said the Sissala East District Assembly would continue to collaborate with DOVVSU, Ghana Education Service and other civil society organisations to reduce the incidence of violence against girls in the communities.

"My administration would, therefore, not condone any act or practice that would undermine girl child education in the district," Madam Sulemana assured.

She announced that the assembly had allocated a total amount of GHC5,000 for the promotion of Science, Technology and Mathematics education for the academic year. In addition, it has provided GHC18,000 under its Common Fund Supplementary Budget to support programmes for teacher trainees, teacher and student award schemes.