Abstract
Narrowing and eliminating enrolment gaps between male and female children has become a policy issue of governments in developing countries especially with the introduction of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The benefits of equal enrolment and retention in primary schools cannot be underestimated for developing countries in particular. This underscores the need for studies that shed light on enrolment inequalities. Applying binary probit model to cross-sectional data from 384 respondents randomly drawn from rural and urban communities in the West Mamprusi District of the Northern Region of Ghana, it is revealed that income level of the household head, number of male and female children of school-age, primary school enrolment decision-maker and number of female children already enrolled are significant determinants of female enrolment. Male children are also found to be the most preferred gender for primary school enrolment. Governments should therefore consider improving income levels of households, as well as sustaining sensitization and awareness creation through the Gender Ministry and/or National Commission for Civic Education on the importance of female education in addressing enrolment inequalities. Keywords : Gender Preference, Household Determinants, Enrolment, Probit Model, Ghana
Highlights
Education is an investment good (Al-Samarrai & Peasgood, 1998; Pekkarinen, 2005) and in undertaking such an investment, choice is inevitable
Tia Abdul-Kabiru Mahama and Paul Kwame Nkegbe Gender Preference in Primary School Enrolment among Households in Northern Region, Ghana decisions especially when confronted with resource constraints which, among others, systematically work to produce differences in school enrolment and retention
Primary school enrolment decision is mostly made by the father (43.5% of the cases) in the study area
Summary
Education is an investment good (Al-Samarrai & Peasgood, 1998; Pekkarinen, 2005) and in undertaking such an investment, choice is inevitable. Decision makers would normally consider the returns to each choice against the alternatives Families with both girls and boys are faced with the choice dilemma in making enrolment. Several studies have pointed to the existence of gender difference in schooling with many attributable causal factors (Amin & Chandrasekhar, 2009; NDPC, 2010; Sifuna & Sawamura, 2010). While some of these studies attribute the cause of gender difference to colonial and policy issues (Prah, 2002), others extensively examine the effects of household socio-economic characteristics on schooling (Akyeampong et al, 2007). Whatever the preposition for gender difference in primary school enrolment is, households or decision makers are faced with the problem of choice
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