Memorandum of issues and recommendations in the Basic Education and secondary education sub-sectors submitted to the Ministry of Education through the Education Consultative Committee
Introduction
Article 25 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana states “All persons shall have the right to equal educational opportunities and facilities and with a view to achieving the full realisation of that right” In keeping with the constitutional provision, Ghana has been implementing the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) policy since 1995, to ensure that all citizens of basic school-going age enroll and complete basic school with relevant learning outcomes without resource constraints. After thirty years of implementation of the FCUBE policy, Ghana has made significant strides in improving access to quality basic education. Yet, enormous deficits remain in the delivery of basic and secondary education
The Erstwhile Government has been implementing the Free Senior High Policy to increase access to Secondary Education. Whilst the Free Senior High School Policy has been commended, its implementation has been met with challenges that require critical review to ensure quality and equitable provision of secondary education for all children. The Government’s decision to hold a national consultative forum on education to cultivate a broader perspective and national consensus in shaping the education agenda of the country is highly commendable.
The Complementary Basic Education (CBE) Alliance and Northern Network for Education Development (NNED)
The Complementary Education Alliance is a body made up of CSOs with interest in eradicating the Out of School Children (OOSC) and the promotion of equitable provision of basic education. The Northern Network for Education Development (NNED) on the other hand consists of over 50 CSOs in Northern Ghana working to expand access to quality basic education for children. Both the CBE Alliance and NNED based on wide consultation with our members and drawing on our many years of experience working in the basic education and secondary education sub-sectors present our views and recommendations to the National Education Forum Planning Committee as follows:
1. High number of Out-of-School children
According to the 2021 National Population and Housing Census of the Ghana Statistical Service, 1,215,546 children aged 4-17 are out of school. This represents a staggering 10 percent of that age cohort. Most of these children are found in marginalized and hard-toreach parts of the country where education service delivery is challenged due to poverty of the people, inadequate educational infrastructure, teachers, and teaching and learning resources. The Ghana Education Outcomes (GEOP) Project, a component of the
Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcome (GALOP) project is being implemented to target only 6% of out-of-school children in 3 years.
Recommendation: We recommend that the GEOP project be continued, and other partnerships should be explored including both funding and strategic partnerships targeting organizations such as the World Bank to support the 1.2 million OOSC to get them back into formal school and eliminate the barriers that are keeping them out of school.
2. Sustainable financing of the Complementary Basic Education (CBE) Policy
The Act of Parliament, Act 1055 of 2020, established the Complementary Education Agency (CEA) to oversee the provision and administration of quality complementary education and to provide for related matters Since the establishment of the CEA, it has been woefully under-resourced, making it difficult for the Agency to attain the needed capacity to deliver on its mandate. For example, the share of the MOE budget allocated to the CEA has declined from 0.42% in 2019 to 0.28% in 2024. The CEA offices across the country lack resources such as funds for monitoring, qualified human resources, vehicles, and even primers (books) for their work
Recommendation: The Alliance recommends that the government should increase the MOE budgetory allocation to the CEA and adequately resource it to execute its mandate as stated in Act 1055.
3. Expansion of local languages
The Ghanaian language of instruction policy stipulates the use of the local language as the medium of instruction from primary 1 to 3 and English language as the medium of instruction from primary 4 onwards (MOESS, 2008). The CBE pedagogy which is delivered in the local language has proven to be effective in providing foundational literacy to outof-school children. Ghana has more than seventy ethnic groups, each with its own distinct language. However, only Twelve (12) languages have the status of governmentsponsored languages or have developed materials for use as L1, while plans are advanced to approve 7 more languages. This raises issues of equity and exclusion, as many ethnic groups do not have foundational literacy in their languages.
Recommendation: We recommend that the government sponsor more languages beyond the current Twelve (12) languages to widen the opportunity for foundational literacy in the mother tongue, ensure the effective implementation of the LI Policy, and preserve the integrity of Ghanaian languages.
4. Infrastructure, furniture, and teaching and learning resources deficits
Ghana’s Education Management Information System data for 2023 indicates that 40% of school pupils have no furniture, and there are still over 5,000 schools under trees, sheds, and dilapidated structures. The highest proportion of the furniture deficit is reported in
the Northern and North East Regions. Also, four years after the introduction of the new primary school curriculum, there were only a few textbooks available for three out of ten subjects.
Recommendation: The government should consider increasing access and inclusion for especially hard-to-reach areas by increasing budgetary allocation to the basic education sub-sector and taking steps to construct about 5000 schools that are under trees, makeshift structures, and dilapidated buildings. We ask for consideration for Ghanamade contracts and the opportunity for local TVET institutions to get contracts to help improve the infrastructure of local schools.
5. Extending Solar Energy to Basic School:
Among the most important education infrastructure required to facilitate teaching and learning towards 21st century skills development, are electricity and Information Communication Technology (ICT) laboratories with reliable internet. While national electricity coverage is about 88 per cent, many rural communities remain off-grid, affecting the ability of basic schools to access electricity for ICT learning.
Ghana, in recognition of the tremendous importance of digital skills in the 21st century, has adapted Computing as a compulsory subject as part of its basic education curriculum. However, only 15 per cent of basic schools have access to functioning computer laboratories/ICT facilities. The CBE Alliance lauds the government’s commitment to extend Solar Energy to all schools in the country.
Recommendation: The government should consider undertaking an audit of basic school infrastructure and aligning the physical infrastructure needs of basic schools with the provision of solar energy. It should also map out, prioritize and include schools without electricity connectivity under the solar energy programme.
6. The free SHS policy is need-blind
The policy is primarily designed to remove financial obstacles to accessing secondary education through what may be described as a bursary for all students in public JHS who successfully complete JHS3, pass the BECE examination and gain admission into a public SHS or TVET institution. The school placement process allows an increased number of students to be enrolled in a secondary institution. However, the process runs the risk of entrenching the situation in which the poor and disadvantaged access poor quality education, while the rich continue to enjoy not only access to good education but even more, good education at a reduced cost. This is at variance with the aim of reducing inequities in access to quality education.
Recommendation: The policy should adopt an equity approach as against the current equality approach to government financing of the policy, such that, government spending
is targeted and focused on marginalized children- including girls, children with special needs, fulbe children, orphans, and children from very poor families. This would also help to free up some funds to tackle critical funding challenges at the basic level.
7. Poor public perception of SHS in deprived areas and of TVET:
Deprived SHSs in particular need to be improved to match the standard of so-called first-class schools, otherwise, there will remain significant numbers of students refusing to enroll when placed in these institutions – even if their fees are covered. This might not only result in pressure being mounted on the good schools, but dropouts will ensue when students are unable to gain access to schools of their desire.
8. Limited absorptive capacity of increasing the number of JHS Graduates into existing SHS/TVET institutions
Infrastructure development needs to be successfully ramped up to match the increase in student enrolment. Reports indicate that the free SHS policy implementation is met with challenges in the form of infrastructure deficits, congestion, inadequate furniture and other teaching and learning resources.
Recommendation: Government should consider providing adequate infrastructure and teaching resources to the deprived SHS to ensure they match up with the so-called ‘A’ Schools. This will ease the pressure on the well-endowed SHS and ensure increased access to quality Secondary education across the country. There is also the need to broaden the scope of the sources of funding the free SHS Programme.
9. Fragmented and uncoordinated planning and management practices of pretertiary education sector continue to impede goal attainment
The pre-tertiary education sector of Ghana has been hailed for its well-laid out institutional structures from the national to the school level. However, the lack of a systemic approach to planning and weaknesses in the coordination of implementation of agreed strategies continue to affect the timely attainment of inclusive quality education for all.
Recommendation: Government should conduct a comprehensive review of the entire planning and management systems of the pre-tertiary sector in order to ensure that all divisions, directorates and units with mandate for planning and coordination are still fit for purpose and connected systemically. The process and expectations regarding education planning should also be revised to ensure that School Performance Improvement Plans (SPIPS) become School performance and Accountability Plans (SPAP), contain all the education priorities of every community and their school and feed seamlessly into District Education Improvement and Accountability Plans (DEIAP) which
should eventually constitute the priorities of the remainder of Ghana’s Education Strategic Plan 2018-2030 and beyond.
10.Teacher rationalization and extra support for teachers in deprived communities.
While recognizing and applauding the government's commitment in its manifesto to develop incentives for teachers in deprived areas with comprehensive data collection and pay a 20% allowance to rural-based teachers, we recommend that the government should streamline teacher development and rationalization to rural communities to address teacher shortages in those areas.
Conclusion
Addressing the high number of out-of-school children, ensuring sustainable financing for the Complementary Basic Education (CBE) Policy, expanding the use of local languages in education, providing the needed infrastructure, and bridging the equity gap and addressing all the key issues discussed above are critical steps towards achieving equitable and quality education for all. We urge the Ministry of Education and National Education Forum Planning Committee to consider these recommendations seriously and take decisive actions to bridge the gaps in the basic and secondary education subsectors. By doing so, we can ensure that every child in Ghana has the opportunity to receive a quality education and reach their full potential.
Contacts of lead organizations
Name of contact person: Wedad Sayibu
Title: Director and Convenor
Organization: School for Life, CBE Alliance
Email address: wedad@schoolforlifegh.org
Phone contact: 0247008419
Name of contact person: Gaskin Dassah
Title: Coordinator
Organization: NNED
Email address: gaskingh@gmail.com
Phone contact: 0244953185
List of NNED and CBE Alliance Members Presenting the Memorandum
1. NET ORGANISATION FOR YOUTH EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT (NOYEDGHANA)
2. PRIDE-GHANA
3. SAVANA SIGNATURES (SAVSIGN)
4. WUNI ZALIGU DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (WUZDA)
5. RAINS
6. CALID
7. CHOICE GHANA
8. PAMBE GHANA
9. MALTITI CHILD FOUNDATION – MCF
10. LIVELY MINDS
11. CRIS
12. CREATE CHANGE
13. YARO
14. CDF
15. BRAVE AURORA
16. SUNG FOUNDATION
17. PAPADEV
18. PAGBILA(WOMEN AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION
19. INTEGRATED SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE (ISODEC)-TAMALE
20. CENTRE FOR PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (CEPACD)
21. INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
22. FORUM FOR TRANSPARENCY DEVELOPMENT ALTERNATIVES (FORTDA-GHANA)
23. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP FOR YOUTH AND WOMEN DEVELOPMENT(CPYWD)
24. CENTER FOR CAPACITY IMPROVEMENT FOR THE WELBEING OF THE VULNERABLE (CIWED)
25. WONTA DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION (WODEV)
26. LIFE CARE-GHANA
27. PAWLA
28. SIDSEC
29. SUNG-BAWIARA FOUNDATION UW/R
30. WIDO
31. COLLIATION FOR CHANGE
32. HAYTAFORD
33. LINK COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
34. AFRIKIDS
35. BOTITAABA NAHIRA TAABA DEVELOPMENT UNION (BONATADU)
36. WIDOWS AND ORPHANS MOVEMENT
37. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND ADVOCACY CENTER (CODAC)
38. SONGTAABA
39. SCHOOL FOR LIFE
40. NORSAAC
41. DICARE
42. LIFE CARE GHANA (LIFECARE)
43. COMMUNITY AID FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT (CARD)
44. EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR MUSLIM YOUTH (EDUFUND)
45. CHILDREN BELIEVE
46. ACTION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (ASUDEV)
47. SUNGBAWEIRA FOUNDATION
48. WONTA FOUNDATION
49. CENTRE FOR ADVANCING RURAL OPPORTUNITIES (CARO)
50. MUSLIM YOUTH ASSOCIATION (MYA)
51. BAMBU FOUNDATION
52. ALINEA FOUNDATION
53. GILLBT