Only 3% of girls enrolled in schools attain grade 12, report shows

Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) has said from the total enrollment of pupils in schools every year, only three percent of that number of girl go all the way up to grade 12.

National Director, Namenda Malupande, said this during a media interaction in Lusaka on Monday.

She highlighted menstrual poverty, lack of food, long distances to schools among others as some of the hindrances for girls to completing their secondary school.

Malupande said to compliment government efforts in providing education for all, CAMFED has supported at least 434,208 children to do school at Primary level with 1,273 learner guides.

“To date, 96, 271 children have been supported to go to school through community initiatives and 93, 917 children have been supported to go to school at secondary level, 3,341 transition guides and 30 business guides since the organisation was launched in Zambia in 2001,” she said.

Malupande said to date 180, 538 children have been supported to go to school under the CAMFED Association (CAMA) programme, which is an alumina of the organization.

She said about 17, 59 young women have joined CAMA and 6, 846 female entrepreneurs have succeeded in setting up businesses.

Malupande said prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, only 1 in 20 girls who started school in Sub-Saharan Africa went on to complete secondary school and those in rural area are 4 to 5 times less likely to have completed school than their urban counterparts.

“About 95 percent of girls from poor families in rural Sub-Saharan Africa never complete secondary school and this should be a source of concern for most governments,” she said.

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