The St. John Bosco’s College of Education in the Kassena-Nankana Municipal of the Upper East Region has reported significant gains made in the enrollment of female students in the institution.
According to the institution, female enrollment over the years has been comparatively lower due to poor results in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), making them ineligible for admission.
In 2022, the college admitted 37% females and 63% males, while 35% females and 65% males in 2020.
2023 admission however went beyond the colleges target of 50% females and 50% males after the college started the implementation of its ‘Plug-In’ program; an initiative that granted unsuccessful WASSCE candidates the opportunity to better their grades under strict supervision, tuition and care of the institution for subsequent admission.
The plug-in initiative improved significantly the enrollment of female students this year, as it admitted 302 students which made up 157 females, representing 52% and 145 males, representing 48%.
Speaking to Dreamz News on the sideline of the Institution’s 2nd Annual Lent lecture and Closing Assembly, the College Secretary, Miriam Diana Abagale said, “the focus of the plug-in program is more on the females. That is because we noticed that in our admission data, most of the unqualified candidates with these challenges in the Core areas were the females”.
“We also noticed that, most of them [females] who are not able to make it the first time and are even ready to go through the regular remedial system drop along the line. When they are home, they are saddled with household chores and when they are able to go for these classes which are usually organized in town, on their way back, you don’t know what will happen”. – She added
Madam Abagale however noted that the females are mostly not given the equal opportunity to academically excel as compared to their males counterparts especially due to societal and cultural factors, hence the Plug-in program to accommodate, feed and offer tuition to female candidates to better their grades for subsequent admission.
