Education roundtable told… Boys lead secondary school drop-outs, graduation rates below 30%
Participants during the Roundtable Discussion
Participants during the Roundtable Discussion

THE Ministry of Education in collaboration with the private sector and several other stakeholders on Monday hosted a roundtable discussion on male participation and achievement in education. The discussion was held at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC), Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, and is the third in a series of workshops surrounding issues related to education. As explained, this event focused on male participation and achievements in the education system, along with constraints and means of overcoming them.

The Ministry of Education has achieved universal primary education which is one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and is currently focusing on eliminating gender disparity in secondary education, and in all levels of education no later than 2015.
During a report done on the MDGs of education, the research and surveys which were conducted found that the ratio of girls to boys in education is 0.96 (primary) and 1.02 (secondary), whereas the survival rate in primary education was 89.8% for males and 94.7% for females in 2012. The report explained that more females complete up to secondary education than males.
The primary to secondary school transition rate was 93.6% for males and 96% for females; additionally, females were found to spend 11.2 years in school as opposed to 9.1 years for males in 2012. These results indicate that there is a higher rate of school drop-outs in the male population in the secondary education category.
Leslyn Charles, Assistant Chief Education Officer (ACEO) (secondary), pointed out that the majority of school drop-outs are males and that the secondary school graduation rates of males are below 30%. She also explained that fatherless children are more likely to drop out, as they have less positive active males in their lives. Charles disclosed also that most activities within the school curriculum focus on females, and revealed that this trend is currently engaging the ministry’s attention. Further, she noted that other contributory factors could be the fact that girls are praised more often than boys and that males are disciplined more harshly than females.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Programme Analyst, Trevor Benn noted that the agency has been providing funding for these workshops for the promotion of the MDGs. Benn explained that the private sector through the National Working Group has been playing a major role in partnering with the Government and the UNDP in these activities.He emphasised that UNDP will continue to support such activities and expressed his hope that the event will aid in identifying long-term solutions and create a better work force.

“Guyanese should be proud of the fact that their country is one of few that give equal educational opportunities to both genders,” Private Sector Commission (PSC), Chairman Ramesh Persaud, said. He added that though the focus is on male achievement, more opportunities should be given to females in the private sector to be able to hold high managerial positions. He however added that females are able to hold higher positions within the public sector.
He explained further that at previous workshops which dealt with gender equality in employment, it was recognised that less than 10% of board positions in Guyana are held by females, and less than 15% of top managerial positions are held by females. He added that it seems inconsistent, because the percentage of females completing secondary and university education is higher than that of males.
Persaud noted that the focus of today’s event was creating ways to have more males complete secondary education.
The theme of the discussion was: “Raising the participation and achievements of boys without endangering the progress of girls.”

 

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.