Equip girls’ schools, says FAWE
Jun 15, 2003
Penninah Mlama the Executive Director, Forum for African Women Educationists (FAWE) has called on governments to equip girls’ schools with the necessary facilities for science subjects
By John Eremu and Fortunate Ahimbisibwe
Penninah Mlama the Executive Director, Forum for African Women Educationists (FAWE) has called on governments to equip girls’ schools with the necessary facilities for science subjects.
Mlama dismissed as false the belief that girls cannot perform well in sciences. She called for a change of attitude to the general view that girls could only manage arts subjects.
“You cannot say girls are not performing well in schools where there are no laboratories. You cannot say girls are not performing well where teachers believe girls are not supposed to do science subjects,†Mlama told journalists.
She was speaking at the just concluded five-day workshop on secondary education in Africa.
“We should strive to sensitise the community that girls can perform well and even better than boys. So, you parents should not look down upon your daughters. They can perform as well as boys and there are many instances where they have beaten boys in national examinations,†she added.
Jacob Bregman, the lead education specialist at the World Bank said one of the factors why girls perform poorly at times is because they are exposed to more risks at school and hard labour at home.
The conference brought together donors and education experts across Sub-Saharan Africa to share and discuss best practices in secondary education reform as world attention shifts from basic education.
Penninah Mlama the Executive Director, Forum for African Women Educationists (FAWE) has called on governments to equip girls’ schools with the necessary facilities for science subjects.
Mlama dismissed as false the belief that girls cannot perform well in sciences. She called for a change of attitude to the general view that girls could only manage arts subjects.
“You cannot say girls are not performing well in schools where there are no laboratories. You cannot say girls are not performing well where teachers believe girls are not supposed to do science subjects,†Mlama told journalists.
She was speaking at the just concluded five-day workshop on secondary education in Africa.
“We should strive to sensitise the community that girls can perform well and even better than boys. So, you parents should not look down upon your daughters. They can perform as well as boys and there are many instances where they have beaten boys in national examinations,†she added.
Jacob Bregman, the lead education specialist at the World Bank said one of the factors why girls perform poorly at times is because they are exposed to more risks at school and hard labour at home.
The conference brought together donors and education experts across Sub-Saharan Africa to share and discuss best practices in secondary education reform as world attention shifts from basic education.