Achieving Universal Primary Education in Ghana by 2015: A Reality or Dream?

Posted by Contributor on September 9, 2010 at 10:32 am in Education, Other Top Stories

The Government of Ghana has tried in various ways to show her commitment towards the achievement of Universal Primary Education (MDG 2) by ensuring that all children of primary school-age enrol and complete by 2015.

The government has shown this commitment through policy directives and interventions like the Education Strategy Plan (ESP) for 2003-2015, the Growth Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education Programme and the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

Strategies adopted to operationalise the policies include the introduction of the Capitation Grant (School Fee Abolition), expansion of Early Childhood Development services, promotion of measures to improve Gender Parity in primary schools, and the introduction of Nutrition and School Feeding programmes,

These measures have led to improvement in various key indicators in education in recent years, notably, Gross Enrollment Rates, Gender Parity Index, Net Enrolment Rate and Net Admission

Rate. In spite of increased enrolments rates, enrolment at primary level has not been increasing

Sufficiently to meet the goal of Universal Primary Completion by 2015.

Major challenges facing the sector include:

• Gross inadequacy of teachers in some places of the country

• Insufficiency of some school infrastructure (classrooms, sanitary facilities, etc) in some places in the country.

• Unfavourable socio-economic and cultural factors

• Geographically hard to reach areas, hard to reach children

• Low enrolment of children with disabilities, etc

These challenges call for special approaches if Universal Primary Completion (UPC) is to be

attained by 2015.

There is, therefore, the need to adopt a programme that is flexible and adaptive and can reach large numbers of children in hard to reach areas as well as children living in underserved areas.

Complementary education programmes can better serve the most disadvantaged and/or remote areas.

Evidence from a number of developing countries such as Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Bangladesh, Ethiopia as well as some pilot projects in Ghana show that complementary basic education can be used to address a number of problems in education as well as reach children who would otherwise not be reached by the formal system.

It is expected that such an exercise will address challenges related to:

• Areas of very low population

• Long distance to school

• Over-aged out-of-school children, especially girls, and,

• High opportunity cost of education, especially for girls

A complementary education programme appears able to supplement efforts made through the formal school system. For it to be successful, however, it will require strong government commitment, strategic vision and policy framework, effective partnerships, and reallocation of existing resources or mobilisation of additional resources.

1. Introduction

The Government of Ghana committed itself to the achievement of Universal Primary Education

(MDG 2) by ensuring that by 2015 children everywhere, boys and girls alike will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.

The government’s commitment towards achieving the educational goals is reflected in several policy frameworks and reports. In May 2003, the Ministry of Education and Sports came out with the Education Strategy Plan (ESP) for 2003-2015.

The ESP was informed by many documents and policy frameworks, especially the Education for All goals, the Millennium Development Goals and the Ghana Poverty Reduction

Strategy.

The ESP serves as the framework by which Ghana meets its commitments to achieve the MDGs in education: Gender Parity by 2005 and Universal Primary Completion by 2015.

Within the ESP primary education is designated as a sector priority and various measures and decisions have been taken by the Government to accelerate its efforts in achieving MDG 2 by

2015.

Some of the measures taken include the institution of the capitation grant to all public basic schools, inclusion of pre-school education (4 to 5 years old) as part of compulsory basic education, the introduction of a school feeding program, special programs to bridge the gender gap in access to education and targeted programs to improve access in underserved areas.

All these efforts have resulted in good progress in the education sector, especially in the past year. For example primary school enrolment has increased significantly as a result of the capitation grants and the removal of all remaining fees and levies.

Progress has also been made

toward achieving gender parity through a significant increase in girls’ enrolment.

The central focus in this paper is whether these positive trends mean that Ghana will achieve the Millennium Development Goal 2 by 2015. Is Ghana is on track to achieve and sustain Universal Access to Quality Primary Education by 2015?

In this paper a comprehensive overview of the various policy frameworks and strategies, like the

GPRS II, ESP and the Education White Paper, will be provided.

The paper will provide an analysis of the data and trends in the education sector, like the enrolment ratios, transition rates, retention in school and completion rates and the gender and geographic disparities. The paper

will look at the various policy options taken so far and the implications of it, like for example the

capitation grant and the results it has achieved so far. Are there possible barriers attaining MDG2

and if so are there any alternative policy options, recommendations for Ghana to ensure MDG2

will be achieved by 2015.

2. Policy framework

Ghana has since 1951, and especially after independence in 1957, made significant strides in its education system.

The system, as it is now, is the result of major policy initiatives in education adopted by both the present and past governments. Some of the laws, policy documents and reports, like the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education Programme (FCUBE) (1996) have helped in meeting the educational needs and aspirations of the people.

Article 38 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana requires Government to provide access to Free

Compulsory Universal Basic Education and depending on resource availability, to Senior Secondary, Technical and Tertiary education and life-long learning.

In recent times, the government’s commitment towards achieving her educational goals has been expressed in the following policy frameworks and reports:

1. Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy 2002 – 2004 (GPRS I, February 2002)

2. Education Sector Policy Review Report (ESPRR, August 2002)

3. Education Sector Review (ESR, October 2002) and the Government’s White Paper on the report (2004).

4. Meeting the Challenges of Education in the 21st Century. (The report of the President’s

Commission on Review of Education Reforms in Ghana, ERRC, October 2002).

5. Education for All (EFA, UNESCO, Dakar, 2000) – international paper

6. The Education Strategic Plan (ESP) covering 2003-2015

In 2006 Ghana started the implementation of its second Growth Poverty Reduction Strategy

(GPRS II). The GPRS II is very much focused on developing Ghana to the status of a middle-income country by 2015.

Developing its human resources is one of the three main thematic areas of the GPRS II, emphasizing the creation of competent manpower for development of the country whereby education obviously plays an important role.

The GPRS II not only aims to meet the MDG 2 goal but also to strengthen the quality in basic education, improve quality and efficiency in the delivery of education service and bridging the gender gap in access to education.

The Education Strategic Plan (ESP) that came out in 2003 and is focusing on the period 2003-

2015, is based on the Poverty Reduction Strategy and operationalises within the framework of a sector wide approach (SWAP) for education, which in Ghana is partly situated within the Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS) framework.

The ESP provides the framework and roadmap for achieving the education related MDG’s. The strategic framework of the Education Strategic Plan 2003-2015 is based around four focus areas: Equitable Access to Education, Quality of Education, Educational Management and Science, Technology and Technical and Vocational education (TVET). The ESP has ten policy goals like increasing access to and participation in education and training, improving the quality of teaching and learning for enhanced pupil/student achievement, promoting good health and environmental sanitation in schools and institutions and others.

In 2004, the Government of Ghana came out with a White Paper on Education Reform.

The White Paper Reform outlines a portfolio of reforms and objectives spanning the entire education sector, which are to be implemented from 2007 and have major targets identified for 2015 and 2020.

The key objectives of the White Paper Reform are twofold. First and foremost to build upon the ESP commitments and ensure that all children are provided with the foundation of high quality free basic education.

Secondly to ensure that second cycle education is more inclusive and appropriate to the needs of young people and the demands in the Ghanaian economy. ….To be continued.