Ghana starts implementation of $75.5m education project
Professor Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang, Minister of Education, has said the Ghana Education Service (GES) has started implementing the $75.5 million Global Partnership for Education project.
She said currently the grant is being used to provide school base funding to cater for about 6,600 basic schools and 57 district education offices in deprived areas.
Prof Naana Agyemang was speaking at the Annual National Education Sector Review in Accra.
The three-day programme is on theme: “Ensuring quality teaching and learning through strengthening accountability at all levels”
The Minister of Education said the objective of the project is to address the inequalities in education by improving learning outcomes and enhancing management and supervision of schools.
She said the education ministry would work hard to ensure that concrete results are achieved.
Prof Naana Agyemang said the Ministry has also made budgetary provision of GH₵70 million in the GETFund distribution formula to kick start 50 Community Senior High School in the first year of the current administration.
She said plans for the commencement project are well advanced adding that the World Bank has agreed to provide support for this programme.
She said discussions were underway to secure an IDA facility to support the expansion of facilities, improved equipment and quality teaching and learning as well as provide school based grants for deserving Senior High Schools in the country.
Prof Naana Agyemang also explained that in order to reach every child of school going age the Ministry has adopted the Ghana groomed model of complementary basic education known as school for life.
She said the Ministry is using the model to cater for 25,000 out of school children through implementing partners at the community level.
Prof Naana Agyemang said National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) has established a research fund with seed money from GETFund.
She said the idea is to collate all book and research allowances paid to individuals into a big pool for research to raise the level and quality of study in Ghana.
Mrs Benedicta Naana Biney, Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), who made a presentation on pre-tertiary education, said there are improvements in the enrolment rates, girl’s participation and increased access for children with special needs and enrolment in TVET institutions.
She said the indicators proof that on-going policy interventions such as the capitation grant, free exercise book, free uniforms and the school feeding programmes targeted at deprived communities are yielding the expected results.
She said a number of teacher training colleges were upgraded whiles 12,900 untrained teachers were enrolled to enhance their skills and knowledge.
Ms Marisol Perez, a Representative from USAID, called for greater transparency and accountability in the financing of education in Ghana.
She said while Development Partners support to broader education system goals it would be useful for the country to begin to identify alternative domestic sources of funding to pave way towards sustaining and greater predictability of funds.
Ms Perez also urged government to implement the things they put on paper and not just see it as a mere slogan.
She said though the challenges are many, the various stakeholders in education sector can come together to deliver the required results to the people of Ghana.
Source: GNA