Press release
Ministry of Education commits to prioritising five key policy areas to improve children’s learning in Ghana
Accra, 12 October 2020 – The Ministry of Education has today launched a new report providing an in-depth, topical analysis of foundational learning in primary education in Ghana. Entitled Spotlight on Basic Education Completion and Foundational Learning: Ghana, it is one of five country reports and a continental report on Africa produced in partnership with UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA). Launched along with a campaign supported by the Ministry, #BorntoLearn, this new initiative offers a diagnosis of the current state of foundational education in Ghana and identifies policy solutions that are critical for improving educational outcomes for all students in the country.
The report celebrates the great progress made toward accessible, high-quality education in Ghana. New data shows that 77% of children are now completing primary school, a figure considerably higher than 57%, where it stood two decades ago. Since 2017, the country has pursued ambitious reforms, including the introduction of free senior high school for all pupils, and the innovative ‘one teacher, one laptop’ scheme introduced to ease the burden which the COVID-19 pandemic placed upon the education system. The report also notes the recent transformation of the Ghanaian approach to pedagogy, which places collaborative, student-centred learning at the forefront of curriculum.
Despite this progress, the report finds that significant challenges regarding the quality of education, remain prevalent. The majority of children (almost 80%) still do not acquire basic skills in literacy and numeracy by the time they reach the end of primary school. The report identifies the inconsistent delivery of education across the country as a particularly detrimental issue, with public schools in disadvantaged and rural areas bearing the brunt of weak provision.
The recommendations of the report have been designed with both the recent positive developments to the Ghanaian education system, and its ongoing challenges, in mind. They are structured around five key policy areas which are identified as having the potential to strengthen and improve learning in Ghana:
- Improve teacher and school training: Introduce structured materials and support for professional learning sessions focusing on phonics and teaching at the right level. Provide structured, on-the-job education leadership training for all basic education schools.
- Invest in more textbooks: Ensure that textbooks and other teaching and learning materials reach classrooms.
- Look at innovative funding mechanisms: Explore new resourcing mechanisms for basic education, including results-based financing.
- Enhance coordination across government: Assist Regional, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Education Offices to prioritize objectives and oversee their achievement, providing supportive supervision to this end.
- Encourage local involvement: Consider ways of decentralizing decision making and enhancing local accountability.
Knowing how to read, write and make basic maths calculations sets the groundwork for success in school and beyond. Our vision in Ghana is for all learners to have these important skills when they finish primary school. There is still much work to be done, this is why the process through Spotlight is so critical in identifying the policy areas that we need to focus on to ensure we deliver the best educational outcomes for children and young people in Ghana
If children are equipped with foundational skills in mathematics and reading from an early age, they are more likely to reach their potential later in school and in life. The Spotlight Reports have looked at the positive practices happening in Ghana and across the continent to improve children’s learning. A new peer-learning mechanism has been launched alongside this report hosted by the AU called the ‘Leveraging Education Analysis for Results Network (LEARN)’. We look forward to Ghana participating and sharing with other countries on the continent the lessons they have learnt as they have implemented their own policies on foundational literacy and numeracy
ENDS
About the Global Education Monitoring Report:
Established in 2002, the GEM Report is an editorially independent report, hosted and published by UNESCO to monitor progress on education in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and monitor the implementation of national and international strategies to help hold all relevant partners to account for their commitments.
About the Spotlight report
The Spotlight on Primary Education and Foundational Learning in Africa report, Born to Learn, is the result of a partnership between the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and the African Union. The report, which was launched alongside the #BorntoLearn campaign, analyses the current situation of foundational learning, recognises ongoing challenges, and identifies key policy solutions to improve the access to, and quality of, education across Africa.
#Born to Learn Campaign
The Minister of Education of Ghana has supported the #BorntoLearn launching alongside the report, showing his support for the recommendations in the publication and calling for others to do so too.
Media Contacts:
Kate Redman, UNESCO Paris. Tel: +33 671786234 k.redman@unesco.org
Gina Dafalia, UNESCO. Tel: +447375318760 d.dafalia@unesco.org
