On November 17 2022, Eduwatch participated in a National Conference on the State of Inclusive Education in Ghana, organised by the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition. The event brought together education stakeholders to take stock of the delivery of Inclusive Education (IE) in Ghana, and to advance the right to quality education for children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

In a presentation on the the state of Ghana's IE delivery, a representative of the Special Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Rose Ofosuhemaa Darko, highlighted the IE Policy and noted that the policy is currently being reviewed. She added that, the IE Unit is working to ensure teachers in mainstream public basic schools adopt and use the Universal Design for Learning approach in their teaching to accommodate the needs and abilities of all learners including children with SEND.

Eduwatch's Snr. Programme Officer, Divine Kpe, expressed concern over the low budget execution rate in the IE sub-sector. He noted that, in 2020, out of GHC 12.8 million allocated to Special Education, only 31.7% was released, and from 2015 to 2020, of the total allocation of GHC 59.2 million, only 64.5% was allocated to the sub-sector. He called on the Ministries of Education and Finance to ensure the disbursement of allocated funds to Special Education, happens within the financial year.

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On November 22, 2022, Eduwatch participated in a Civic Society Engagement upon the invitation of former President John Dramani Mahama. The engagement sought to create an opportunity for the former President to listen to the perspectives of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on the challenges and possible solutions for governance deficits and economic challenges confronting Ghana.

Addressing the invited CSOs, including Eduwatch, H.E. Mahama recognised the contributions of CSOs in ensuring accountability, equitable distribution of resources, transparency in governance, and promoting social justice. He emphasised the need for the civic space to be freed and widened for citizens' active participation in governance processes.

Contributing to a group discussion on the topic, "The Ghana We Want to See", Eduwatch noted that it is the expectation of the organisation to see a Ghana where Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education is a reality for every Ghanaian child, and competitive procurement made the norm at the Education Ministry and all other governance structures.

Eduwatch was represented by the Executive Director, Kofi Asare and Snr. Programme Officer, Divine Kpe. Other participating CSOs included IMIANA-Africa, Media Foundation for West Africa, Institute of Democratic Governance, CDD-Ghana, and Ghana Integrity Initiative.

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On November 22, Eduwatch participated in Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana)'s 17th Annual 'Kronti ne Akwamu Lecture. The Lecture was chaired by Prof. Kwame Karikari (Dean, Communication Studies, Wisconsin International University College).

Guest Lecturer for the event, Idayat Hassan (Director of the CDD-West Africa) observed the shrinking nature of the West African civic space, which are reflected in the restriction of the media space, attacks on Civic Societies by party loyalists, and intimidation and threats on academics and activists, among others. She called for awakened solidarity among the CSOs for a united and stronger front that can stand up to the system.

Eduwatch Snr. Programme Officer, Divine Kpe, in a submission acknowledged the need for CSOs to work together to widen the civic space. He, however, added that, CSOs as well need to build their capacity to occupy the space when it is widened since the space will naturally shrink if the civic voices and activism in the opened space are but a few.

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On Wednesday November 23, Eduwatch, met with stakeholders to discuss the harmonisation of teenage pregnancy data for policy planning, budgeting and resource allocation towards addressing teenage pregnancy in Ghana. The meeting sought to apprise stakeholders on the objective of data harmonisation between the GES and GHS under the SERVE III Project, and explore opportunities for stakeholder collaboration to achieve same.

Under SERVE II, Eduwatch observed the existence of a data gap in the teenage pregnancy figures reported by Ministries of Education and Health. While the Ministry of Education (MoE) reports an average of 7,000 cases annually, the Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service reports an average of 110,000 cases annually. The low figure from MoE has the potential to underestimate the problem and consequently affect policy planning and resources allocation to address the menace.

Stakeholders, including the Ministries of Education and Health, the Ghana Statistical Service, Ghana Education Service and the Ghana Health Service built consensus on the need for teenage pregnancy data harmonisation, and committed to collaborate in attaining the objective.

Earlier, on Tuesday 22nd November, Eduwatch met the Department of Social welfare to discuss collaboration on strengthening Ghana's child marriage response system, in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP). Both parties acknowledged the need for collaboration on the objective, and will formalise the process through the MoGCSP.

The harmonisation of teenage pregnancy data between the MoE/GES and MoH/GHS, and strengthening the child marriage response system are key objectives under Eduwatch's SERVE III project being implemented with support from STAR-Ghana Foundation, and funding from FCDO.

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On Monday November 28, Eduwatch, participated in a stakeholder engagement organised by the Ministry of Education on the next Education Sector Medium Term Education Development Plan (ESMTDP) - 2022-2025. A total of 122 indicators were developed by the Ministry to track the implementation, monitoring, and reporting on the 2022-2025 ESMTDP.

In a presentation by the Ministry, it emerged that, out of 113 indicators in the 2018-2021 ESMTDP, 72 were reported on for the planned period with 26 targets fully achieved, and 46 being either partially achieved or not achieved. According to the Ministry, a key challenge for the medium term was the non-availability of systems to capture data on some of the indicators.

Speaking on behalf of Eduwatch, Snr. Programme Officer, Divine Kpe, indicated that, Eduwatch and CDD-Ghana with support from FCDO conducted an assessment of some selected indicators in the 2018-2021 ESMTDP, and engaged the Education Minister using the assessment report with the objective of influencing the 2022-2025 ESMTDP. He added that one of the critical findings in the Eduwatch-CDD-Ghana assessment was the low target set by the Ministry for new school building construction.

Divine further recommended that the target-setting should be evidence-led to avoid under targeting, and added that the scope of EMIS should be expanded to include indicators that are in the ESMTDP, but currently not in the EMIS.

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On Tuesday November 29, Eduwatch issued a preliminary statement on the education section of the 2023 national budget presented to Parliament by the Finance Minister on 24th November, 2022.

Eduwatch observed that out of the projected government expenditure of GHC 205 billion, GHC 24.7 billion, representing 12% of the total budget, was allocated to the education sector. The 12%, according to Eduwatch, is the lowest proportions of government budget allocation to the education sector in about two decades which raises concerns about Ghana’s ability to meet the upper limit of the international education financing benchmark of 15% to 20% of public expenditure and 4%-6% of GDP.

Also, of the GHC 24.7 billion allocation to education, only GHC 1.8 billion was from the GETFund, against total GETFund levy accruals of GHC 4.6 billion. This suggests that, only 39% of the GETFund levy proceeds has been allocated to GETFund for education financing.

Eduwatch called on government to take steps to augment the deficit in the 2023 supplementary budget and revise the medium-term expenditure framework to reflect its international commitments on education financing, as well as the real needs of the Sector.

Eduwatch will on December 14, 2022 hold a capacity building workshop on the education section of the 2023 Budget for selected CSOs.

Please find the full statement via the link below:
https://africaeducationwatch.org/publication/2023-education-budget-statement

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