Girls Model Junior High School

In 2008 Oxfam partnered with Ghana Education Service, the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba district, and local communities to build a junior high school in the northern province of Sawla to tackle barriers preventing girls from finishing their educations. We aimed to demonstrate that safe, girl-friendly schools would empower girls and motivate them to stay in school—and maybe even pursue higher education. The first Girls Model Junior High School opened in Sawla in 2008, targeting girls from the poorest families. All 28 enrolled girls passed their final exams, and 24 went on to attend senior high school. In 2013, a sister school was established in the Kpandai district. By March 2018—a decade after the project began—there were 44 schools in districts across northern Ghana. They are all financed and administered by local authorities. The schools have taken a novel approach to pedagogy. Teaching is based on learner-centered methodologies. For example, the girls form study groups in the evenings. Parents are invited to support the girls’ education through school management committees. Computers are integrated into lessons, and teachers are trained to encourage the girls to participate actively in the classroom, and even to challenge teachers with individual points of view. These schools go beyond the national curriculum to address sexual health and life skills. Ninety-five percent of the girls registered at the Girls Model Junior High Schools have graduated, and the majority are continuing their education. In the schools’ surrounding communities, girls constitute just 10% of the children who graduate from junior high school.