Examining factors influencing enrollment, retention, and completion of JHS pupils in fishing communities in the Elemenbele District of the Western Region of Ghana

Abstract

The study examined factors influencing enrolment, retention and completion of JHS pupils in fishing communities in the Ellembelle District of Ghana. Three schools; Ngalepkole JHS, Ekwe JHS, and Sanzule JHS, were used for the study. A total of 207 pupils, 207 parents and 24 teachers were selected for the study. The study collected data using a structured questionnaire. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and presented using descriptive statistics in the form of percentages and frequencies. From the study, the factors that facilitate enrolment in school were school accessibility, economic factors, social and cultural factors, school environment and support, and government and school interventions. The study revealed that fishing activities in the communities influence some children to drop out of school to work, the industry provides a financial incentive for children to leave school and start working, and income from fishing work helps their family afford their education. Other factors that affected school retention included missing school because of the need to assist with fishing activities, sometimes being required to help with fishing activities, which affects their school attendance, and fishing work in their community makes it difficult for them to attend school regularly. The approaches to improve enrolment comprised encouraging children from fishing families to enrol, and local government organizing campaigns to raise awareness about the importance of school enrolment. It is recommended that parents and teachers in fishing communities should carry out focused community awareness-raising initiatives to increase knowledge of the long-term advantages of education, especially for families who place a higher priority on fishing than on education.