Factors Influencing Women’s Participation in Development-Oriented Education Programmes in the Bongo District, Upper East Region of Ghana

Abstract

The need for all to participate in development-oriented education programmes to facilitate and increase and increase the pace and sustain development occasioned the establishment of the functional literacy programmes Ghana in the 19990s, and supported financially by the World Bank. The success of this depended largely on the participation and patronage of the target beneficiaries’ particularly non-literate women. However, existing literature from the Non-Formal Education Division of the Ministry of Education suggests high rates of women drop out and low participation especially in the Bongo District. The study was therefore undertaken to determine the factors which influenced women to participate in the programme. The survey design was used or the study. The sampled population was 280 respondents sampled in 8 out of the 14 zones where the programme was being operated. The study revealed that the factors militating against women participation or drop-out were excess workload, family commitments, distance to the programme, lack of time, fatigue, spouse attitude, political influence of opposition parties, and lack of interest as well as cultural factors. However, the need for acquiring knowledge and skills in reading and writing the local language and perform simple calculations motive them to participate in the programme.