CAMFED ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) Ghana under the West Gonja District of the Northern Region held its annual general meeting in Damongo.

CAMFED is a non governmental organization which aims at supporting female students especially the poor and needy who cannot afford for their educational needs.

The support they provide include the following;
Safety net fund: This includes payment of school fees, uniforms, sandals, exercise books, pens etc.
Bursary: This is a full scholarship to enable girls complete the Junior and Senior High Schools.

Safer schools fund: This provides financial support for projects targeted at improving the quality of teaching and learning as well as the physical environment. Young women empowerment: grants given to young women to become economically independent.

The meeting was organised to among other things raise awareness of the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders of the CAMFED programme, measure achievements and assess challenges over the year and as well as they way forward.

A report by the district education committee chairperson of CAMFED Mrs Mercy Awuntomah revealed that, in the year 2010 they under took the follwoing activities in the partner schools.

- Selection of forty needy pupils from Larabanga, Busunu D/A, Jakpa, and Canteen JHS Schools with stakeholders for the safety Net Fund.
- Selection of forty needy girls from Ndewura Jakpa and Damongo Senior High Schools for the Bursary support.
- Distribution of Bursary items to 224 JHS and 70 SHS needy girls in the District.
- Monitoring of both the use of the Bursary items and the implementation of the school safer Funds Projects.
- Organization of capacity building for SMC/PTAs and Head teachers of beneficiary schools, on their roles and responsibilities and on child protection.

The following were some of the achievements said to be accomplished in the report.
Due to the intervention of the CAMFED Programmed in the district, the Basic Schools enrolment figures increased, Statistics were as follows;

YEAR LEVEL BOYS GIRLS TOTAL
2007 Primary 6811 6122 12933
JHS 1783 1444 3227

2008 Primary 6599 6221 12820
JHS 1873 1566 3437

2009-2010 Primary 6752 6507 13259
JHS 2101 1716 3820


Again, the report revealed that CAMFED have helped to retain the needy girls in school and also increased the gender parity index (GPI)as shown below.

S/N BASIC LEVEL GP1
1 KG 1.01
2 Primary 0.99
3 JHS 0.91

In addition, the school safer funds have supported the benegiciary schools to provide a gender friendly school environment as well as quality teaching and learning. Some of the schools used the safer funds in purchasing computers for the teaching of I.C.T in their schools.

Some of the challenges mentioned were as follows;

(i) Lack of commitment among some of the DEC members
(ii) Late submission of returns and reports by some beneficiary schools.
(iii)Most schools and parents were pressuring for inclusion in the CAMFED support.
(iv) Difficulty of getting Damongo Senior High School uniform
(v) West Gonja was faced with a challenge of not getting quota for selection.

Mrs. Mercy Ewuntomah advised headmasters/teachers to retire their expenditure and submit their reports in time.

She further advised the new elected DEC members to be committed to work so that the district can qualify for the selection quota this year.
She called on members to be serious about CAMFED activities.

Madaam Abukari Afishata leader of CAMA outlined some of their achievements and challenges.

On achievements shse outlined the following;
1. CAMA was able to get 105 dropout pupils enrolled in schools
2. Two CAMA members were trained on Child Health Protection as Peer Health Educators
3. Also CAMA members, two MSG members were trained on gender and child right etc.

Touching on challenges, Madam Afishata complained of lack of commitment among members, inadequate funds, and Lack of means of transport to reach some communities etc.

Delivering a speech on behalf of the District Director of Education, the Human Resource Manager Mr. Robert Sulemana Kawura acknowledged the initiatives carried out by CAMFED in the district.

He advised head teachers and teacher mentors to coordinate well with their activities to bring progress in the schools and the district at large.

He also advised that funds received form CAMFED should be judiciously used.

He however lamented that some head teachers could not use the funds received from CAMFED to benefit their schools and students.

Representing the DCE Mr. S.Y. Inusah who is the District Co-ordinating Director of West Gonja lauded the DEC memebrs of CAMFED and outlined the essence of Annual General Meeting.

The meeting brought together District Education committee (DEC) members, CAMA members, Teacher mentors, headteachers of beneficiary schools etc.




BY ATULE REGINA