By Kingsley Webora TANKEH
The Girl Education Initiative Ghana (GEIG) has initiated their ‘Read to Thrive’ program at the Covenant Presby School located in Dzorwulu. This initiative aims to enhance reading skills among elementary school students aged 8 to 15 years.
The initiative spans the whole academic year, scheduling reading and writing activities every Saturday for students. The event’s inauguration took place in Accra on Saturday, May 24, 2025, with participation from around 60 children along with their families.
At the launch event, Elizabeth Akua Nyarko Patterson, who founded and leads the Girl Education Initiative Ghana, was amazed by the significant turnout. She exclaimed with pride, “This is an excellent day for both myself and our organization.” Nevertheless, she acknowledged the immense effort required to organize such an event.
She deeply thanked the administration of Covenant Presby School and the facilitators involved in the program—mostly faculty members—for their support and allowing them to host the event on the school grounds.
As she emphasized the scheduled activities, she mentioned: “We’ve prepared various resources and lesson plans. Regardless of whether your child is an advanced reader, there will always be content they can engage with. Our collection includes books suitable for each grade level.”
“There are educational tools such as ABC charts, color-identification flashcards, and word cards for short terms—like three-letter and two-letter words—that form the basis of students developing their vocabularies and learning to read,” she explained.
She used her children as examples to support the idea that developing reading habits significantly aids children’s performance. “What my kids enjoy the most is reading. Should a child manage to read just a bit each day, even one short book, you’ll notice the significant difference. Take my son, who is currently six but already in fourth grade. Therefore, if my son can achieve this, I fail to understand why another child couldn’t,” she emphasized.
Her zeal drives the mission of her organization—to offer chances to children irrespective of their familial origins and situations so they can stand equally alongside kids from various communities and households.
Research indicates that many Ghanaian children do not gain fundamental reading and math abilities by the time they complete their primary schooling. This issue can be attributed partially to insufficient high-quality teaching materials, inadequately prepared educators, and unequal opportunities in education, particularly affecting females and individuals with disabilities.
According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, 7.9 million people over the age of six in Ghana did not possess fundamental reading and writing abilities.
The national standardized test implemented in 2021 for fourth-grade students revealed that merely 54% demonstrated proficiency in reading and comprehension skills. This led the Ghana Statistical Service to initiate a comprehensive countrywide study in 2024 aimed at evaluating educational deprivation levels; however, the findings from this assessment have not been published as of now.
Educational deprivation refers to the failure to comprehend basic texts by the time one reaches ten years old. In an effort to address this issue early on, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) has disclosed that Ghana will host the 2025 ADEA Triennial Conference on Education and Training from October 29-31, 2025, in Accra under the slogan ‘Boosting African education systems’ resilience: Moving towards eliminating learning poverty by 2035 through cultivating a knowledgeable and proficient workforce both within and outside the continent’.
To help combat national literacy issues, the ‘Read to Grow’ initiative aims to offer boys and girls in grades 1 through 6 access to high-quality reading and writing resources. These tools will assist students of various ages in developing essential reading abilities and foster a greater enthusiasm for reading.
Evelyn Amoama Antwi, the Headmistress of Covenant Presby School, conveyed her appreciation to the organizers for selecting her institution as the venue for the event. She also underscored the significant advantages that reading offers to students.
When children cultivate the habit of reading, it will be evident in their performance. Therefore, rather than having them watch television or cartoons, parents ought to endorse and motivate their offspring to engage with books,” she suggested, further stating, “Once kids notice that both myself and my siblings share an interest in what they’re reading—alongside our parents—they’ll strive even harder.
Stephen Braneh, who serves as the chairman of the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) at Covenant Presby School, has shown enthusiasm about collaborating with GEIG. His interest stems from his child participating in the program during fourth grade, aiming to foster better reading skills among students.
“When it comes to our charges, we are always eager to volunteer and collaborate. This is the positive feedback we love to receive. Each parent present is prepared to bring their child every Saturday to participate,” he ended.
Founded in 2015, the Girl Education Initiative Ghana (GEIG), a non-governmental organization, offers both educational resources and financial assistance to girls as well as individuals with special needs or disabilities, helping them pursue higher education and career opportunities.
The organization has offered complete financial backing for 70 girls from the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions to progress from class six through their university education. Over 5,000 members of these communities have been impacted by their initiatives, conducted quarterly.
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