Social Accountability in Education reports launched
Basic Education in Ghana continues to be plagued with various challenges related to service delivery and quality in spite of the gains in access and financial resources in education.
According to research reports on Social Accountability in Education in Ghana access to education input such as trained teachers, text books and distribution of critical infrastructure remains highly unequal, inadequate and sometimes limited.
The research, which started in 2008, covered 200 primary schools selected from six regions where community dwellers and people in the education sector were interviewed.
The Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) with support STAR –Ghana conducted the research in three thematic areas to ascertain how resources put in education is used and whether projects provided at the basic level meet the gender-specific needs of school children or not.
The reports are: “Tracking provision of school infrastructure in public primary schools in Ghana”, “Citizens’ Report card on Delivery of Education Services in Public Primary Schools in Ghana” and “Community Scoreboard in Public Primary Schools in the Central Region: Gap and Barriers to Basic Education Delivery in Ghana.
They were also to assess the extent to which school infrastructure complied with the dictates of the Disability Act – three years to the expiry of the 10-year moratorium.
They also tracked the allocation and use of public resources in the provision of school infrastructure in public primary schools.
The reports reveal that majority of schools lack disability-friendly infrastructure, while 93 per cent of single structure classroom, 94 per cent of administrative blocks and 98 per cent of libraries and computer laboratories do not have step/ramp railing to ensure ease of movements for people With Disabilities (PWD).
“At least 25 per cent of schools lack facilities as basic as separate toilets for girls and boys; 51 per cent of the schools did not have water supply, and only 16 per cent of the schools had computer laboratories,” they noted.
The reports, therefore, recommend that there should be community involvement in the design and award of contracts so that community-specific needs would be incorporated and also eliminate corruption in the award of contracts.
“Also, copies of contract architecture should be given to head teachers so that they are able to monitor whether necessary facilities have been provided as planned or not,” they state.
The reports recommend to the Government to follow through with the policy of making sure that disability-friendly infrastructure is provided in all schools and also incorporate disability education in the syllabus to make it less difficult for PWDs with minor disabilities to adjust into the mainstream education system.
Source: GNA