A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

field of education and, in particular, to ensure on a basis of equality of men and women the
“reduction of female student drop-out rates and the organization of programmes for girls and
women who have left school prematurely.” 320
Potential Implementation Strategy: Increasing the Enrollment of Girls in School
Efforts to increase girls’ enrollment should include not only gender-neutral measures to increase
accessibility, but measures to address social and cultural practices that discriminate against women and
girls.
The Women’s Refugee Commission (formerly the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and
Children) provides strategies in this regard, e.g. conduct public sensitization on education of girls,
enforce prohibitions against early marriage, carry out reproductive health campaigns aimed at
eliminating teenage pregnancy, ensure that school have adequate facilities including restrooms for girls,
and prohibit and punish sexual violence against girls in schools. The government should explore, with
donor agencies, the possibility of providing economic incentives or wage-earning opportunities to girls,
particularly girl mothers, who attend school. 321
The Bangladesh Female Secondary School Assistance Program used the following implementation
strategies when seeking to increase rural girls’ enrollment and retention in secondary schools: 1)
providing scholarships that cover tuition, books, school supplies, and transport for rural girls; 2)
increasing the number of female teachers; 3) educational/training programs to educate communities on
the importance of girls’ education; and 4) the reformation of curricula to include relevant occupational
skills to girls. 322
Other models include Canadian programs in Egypt that have created flexible schooling schedules to
better enable girls in rural environments to attend school while still doing their work at home. 323
• The Government of Liberia should ensure that educational quality not be compromised in
the wake of increased enrollment under Liberia’s free and compulsory primary education
policy. 324 The Liberian government should assign high priority to earmarking an adequate
proportion of the national budget for the development of education. 325
• The Government of Liberia should take steps to improve Liberian teachers’ socioeconomic
status, living and working conditions, terms of employment, and future professional
prospects. 326
• The Government of Liberia should undertake “as a matter of urgency” to eradicate
overcrowding, as well as shortages of educational materials and qualified teachers. 327
• The Government of Liberia should reform the salary and payment structure for teachers
to ensure teachers receive adequate wages in a manner that is both timely and accessible. In
particular, teachers’ salaries should reflect the importance of the teaching profession, teachers,
and their responsibilities; correlate with other jobs’ wages requiring similar qualifications, as
well as be commensurate with teachers’ certifications; and provide teachers “with the means
to ensure a reasonable standard of living for themselves and their families as well as to invest
in further education or in the pursuit of cultural activities, thus enhancing their professional
qualification.” 328
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