Girl’s education has emerged as a key intervention area for governments, NGOs and all concerned stakeholders. Despite these concerns and attention given to ensure equality in education, more needs to be done to completely get all girls of school going age in-to school and retain them. In Ghana, there has been efforts by government and other stakeholders to ensure that all children get education especially the girl-child. However, in the face of these interventions, regional inequalities in the country in terms of re-sources has left some parts poorer than others and this has led to in into inequalities in education as well, considering the impact that poverty has on education. In the face these, it is also recognised that as girls grow older and progress, it be-comes extremely difficult for them to stay in school and complete. This research attempts to make visible reasons that prevents girls from staying in school in order to complete at least their basic education in the northern region of Ghana. This was done by exploring the nuances in the social structure by particularly interrogating the family as a unit that may hinder or advance the efforts of girls retention,
this research brings to the fore how gender relations inter-acts with deep rooted and entrenched social norms and practices coupled with male dominated decision making and how it affects the retention of girls in school. The research findings points out how gendered social norms and practices in the form of ascribed roles coupled with long standing male dominated decision making in sharing of children’s responsibilities. This leads girls on ‘precarious’ journey called kayayo to support their education and its effects on their retention in school.