More Than a Place to Sleep: New Dormitory for Female Technical Students

For a young woman who gains admission to a technical institute far from home, admission alone does not guarantee a successful education.

Before she completes her first lesson, numerous challenges arise: the long journey to school with concerns about personal safety and uncertainty about where to stay.

For some girls, these pressures have become barriers to continuing their technical education. And in a sector where young women are already significantly underrepresented, every barrier matters.

At St. Paul Technical Institute, many female learners were facing such challenges. One of the main concerns was the lack of a female dormitory.

For 17-year-old architectural drafting student Rejoy, the discomfort followed her into the classroom “I would go to class and my mind was not settled because I will be thinking, am I going back to that crowded bungalow to sleep, am I going back to sleep on the floor?’ It was always on my mind,” she recalls.

Today, the story is different.

Through support by Germany and the European Union, an 84-bed girls' dormitory was inaugurated in June 2026 and is now in use at St. Paul Technical Institute, giving female learners a place to live within the school environment.

Behind this facility is a much bigger ambition: to ensure that more girls have a safe place to stay in school, making it easier for them to enrol, remain in training and complete their technical education.

Turning a barrier into an opportunity

For the girls now occupying the dormitory, these are simple but important things: a bed, a place to sleep, access to sanitation, electricity and the presence of a housemistress within the residential facility. The facility incorporates solar energy and biodigester technology, integrating sustainability into its operation.

18-year-old Ivy is studying wood construction at the institute. One of her biggest changes is simply having a room to live comfortably. “Now we have enough space. At night, one can sleep while another reads on her bed without anyone having to step over someone else. No one has to sleep on the floor anymore. Our minds can rest, and we feel free.”

A dormitory does not teach electrical installation, welding, construction or recycling. But without the conditions that allow a learner to stay in school and participate fully in her training, those skills may never be acquired.

The project aims to reduce barriers associated with inadequate accommodation conditions and support greater participation of young women, including in technical fields that have traditionally been male dominated. One girl who remains in technical education because a dormitory is available may go on to complete her qualification, gain employment, establish her business, employ others or become the skilled technician the industry needs.

A place for girls in technical education

With the dormitory now in use, its significance can be seen in the everyday experience of the girls who live there. The facility creates conditions that allow female learners to focus on their training with greater comfort, dignity and peace of mind.

It also sends a wider message about who belongs in technical education.

“If a girl comes to study a male-dominated course and she is not comfortable in school, she may discourage other girls from choosing technical education. That is why facilities like this are very important. They make girls feel that there is a place for them in technical education,” Rejoy explains.

The “Pact for Skills: Support to the Transformation of the TVET System in Ghana” is funded by Germany and the European Union and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) and the Ghana TVET Service. 

Author: Fatima Gberbie