Low patronage of students in clothing and textiles programme in the senior high schools of Ghana a case study of Kumasi metropolis

Abstract

The decline in popularity of Clothing and Textiles amongst the youth of today has led to the low enrolment of students in the programme in senior high schools. The study sought to investigate the low patronage of students in clothing and textiles programme in the Senior High Schools of Ghana using Kumasi Metropolis as the study area. The objectives of the study were to identify factors responsible for the low patronage of students in Clothing and Textiles, and the extent to which attitude of parents and teachers towards clothing and textiles affect student enrolment and finally devise ways of improving students’ interest in the programme. The descriptive survey method was employed in the conduct of this study. A total of 240 respondents were sampled for the study comprising 160 students, 16 teachers, 8 headteachers and 56 parents. Questionnaire and interview were used to elicit data from respondents. The study found that a combination of factors such as students disinformation on the importance of studying clothing and textiles, lack of career counselling and parents’ disapproval of the programme were the main reasons behind the low enrolment of students in Clothing and Textiles. The study made several recommendations for mitigating these problems which are; the relevant stakeholders in Technical and Vocational education should look at ways of motivating and providing financial assistance to parents and students who enrol in clothing and textiles to ease their financial burdens. Also, the study recommends that there should be career guidance on the job prospects of the programme especially for parents not to downplay the importance of the programme and encourage their wards to enrol in it.