Right To Play Ghana is urging the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service and District/Municipal Education Directorates across the country to prioritise mentorship programmes in Ghanaian schools.

Project Officer at Right To Play Ghana, Julius Kwame Tsatsu said children are well-empowered and motivated to aim high when they are exposed to experienced persons in society.

“When you look at our schools, you will notice that the boys are more likely than girls to continue with their education. This should not be the case. Our girls need the motivation and exposure to stay in school and rise through the ranks to occupy significant positions in the country and the world. This is possible when we intensify mentorship programmes across the country,” he said.

Mr Tsatsu made the statement during the launch of the Girls’ Mentorship Programme in collaboration with the Weija-Gbawe Municipal Education Directorate on Tuesday, at the Sunlodge Hotel, Tesano.

The Girls’ Mentorship Programme, a flagship initiative of Right To Play Ghana is under the four-year Partners in Play Project (P3) funded by The LEGO Foundation. The Partners in Play Project (P3) will empower Ghanaian children to become creative, engaged, and dedicated to lifelong learning.

The Programme aims at providing a safe space for Ghanaian girls and women to connect and share ideas and experiences.

“The mentors will spend time with the girls and share relevant ideas and experiences. We don’t want this to be a one-off event so we are collaborating with the district education office to focus some attention on the Girls’ Mentorship Programme,” Mr Tsatsu said.

Presenting his keynote address at the launch, the Weija-Gbawe Municipal Education Director, Charles Odoom said the Girls’ Mentorship Programme will empower and motivate the “vulnerable girls” in society.

“The issue of Girls empowerment and gender mainstreaming are key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and address issues relating to community development as a whole,” he noted.

Re-echoing the call made by Right To Play Ghana, Mr Odoom said: “mentorship needs to be happening in Ghanaian schools to empower girls to believe in themselves and their dreams. It needs to start at the formative ages, particularly in our classrooms.”

The Weija-Gbawe Municipal Education Director pledged the support of his office towards the advancement of the objectives of the Programme.

As part of the Girls’ Mentorship Programme, mentors will focus their efforts on guiding participants through the building of trust and modelling of positive behaviours.