Gov’t to offer scholarships to ‘Kayayei’

The government of Ghana says it is ready to offer scholarship to head porters, popularly known as Kayayei who want to go back to school.

According to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the government will also train additional eight thousand porters with pre-employment skills such as catering, fashion and ICT in order to give them decent living .http://ghanapoliticsonline.com

The government will be liaising with educational stakeholders like GNAT, NAGRAT, GES to develop an effective strategy to help head porters who want to go back to school.

Minister for Gender,Children and Social Protection made the announcement at a one-day Sensitisation Workshop on Kayayei Women in Accra. The workshop provided the opportunity for various health service providers and other stakeholders to engage with the porters on teenage pregnancy and other social issues affecting them and the way forward in addressing them.

Teenage pregnancy is on the rise and constitutes close to 30 percent of births in the country after a slight reduction in the year 2015. The Kayayei were therefore educated on ways to minimise the menace.

Nana Oye Lithur said education should be a necessary prerequisite for the Kayayei to fully explore their potential and thereby contribute significantly to the development of Ghana. She urged the Kayayei to make use of 3 complaints centres in Ashaiman,Agbogbloshie and Mallam Atta when the need arises.

She added that her ministry is in the process of registering over three thousand head porters unto the National Health Insurance scheme.

BY-Obeng Agyeman Opambour