Literacy and Education

Literacy

Table 3.9 shows the literate population 11 years and older categorized by age. Out of the total population 11 years and older, 12,251 are literate and 5,995 are not literate representing 67.1 percent and 32.9 percent respectively. It is to be noted that 18.1 percent of the population is literate in English only while 73.3 percent can read and write in both English and Ghanaian language.

This picture does not vary very much by age. However, relatively higher proportions of younger persons in the district are literate in English only compared to the older persons. The age group with the highest proportion of literate persons in English language only is the 15-19 years (18.7%) while the least is recorded among age 60-64 years (8.9%).

In terms of Ghanaian language only, the age group with the highest rate is 35-39 years (13.2%) while the least is recorded among age 15-19 years (4.3%). Literacy in English and French is low with the highest proportion recorded for age 40-44 years (0.9%).

With regard to the sex distribution of the population, it is noted that females from 11 to 14 years record the highest proportion (29.1%) of persons who are literate in English only and is relatively higher than that recorded for their male counterparts (26.3%). Literacy in Ghanaian language only is also higher among the females (10.9%) compared to the males (5.7%). Literacy in English and Ghanaian language is by far the highest either among the males or females at all ages and there is little variation between the sexes regarding literacy in English and French. 

School attendance

Education plays a vital role in the development of a nation through human capital formation. School enrolment and attendance ensures that the citizenry attain the needed level of education for economic development. Figure 3.1 presents school attendance in the district by sex. The figure shows that 28.1 percent of persons aged 3 years and older in the district have never attended school. More females (33.0%) than males (23.7%) have never attended school. Currently, 39.6 percent of persons 3 years and older in the district are attending school. 

Table 3.10 discusses the various levels of school attendance by sex. The trends are generally in favour of males over females. For instance, out of a total of 9,736 people who are currently attending school, 54.7 percent are males. Majority of the people currently in school are in pre-school and at the basic education level. About 5.0 percent are in secondary school (6.0% males and 4.5% females) and less than one percent of them have gone beyond the secondary school level. It is also clear that school attendance in the past at the secondary school level and beyond is far higher than at present.