Why we count girls in Primary 6

Girls and boys start school here in equal numbers. Somewhere around Primary 5 the girls begin to disappear: kept home to work, or because there is no money for pads, or because a family has decided that a daughter has had enough schooling.

We now track every girl in upper primary by name. The senior woman teacher runs a weekly girls' group, the welfare cupboard keeps reusable pads, and when a girl stops coming, someone walks to her home the same week.

Three years ago eleven girls sat the leaving exam. This year there will be nineteen.