On Thursday 8th December, Eduwatch held a convening with child protection stakeholders to discuss Ghana's child marriage response system under the SERVE III Project being implemented with support from STAR Ghana Foundation and funding from the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The convening comes on the back of a scoping study conducted by Eduwatch to assess the existing child marriage reporting and response system and proffer recommendations to strengthen same.

Eduwatch Board Member, Dorothy Konadu, in her welcome address called on Parliament to increase allocation to the Domestic Violence Fund to at least the 2021 allocation of GHC 2 million and reverse the GHC 1 million allocation in the 2023 budget.

Presenting findings from the scoping study, the consultant, Melody Darkey indicated that Ghana has an extensive legal and policy framework, institutional arrangements and clearly defined case management pathways in response to cases of child marriage. She added however, that there still exist notable gaps in the systems.

Melody highlighted the inconsistency in the legal provision for the age of consent for sex against the minimum age for marriage as a major gap in the response system. She indicated limited end-user knowledge and awareness of the response system as a key challenge to victims and concerned citizens who wish to report child marriage cases.

Presenting preliminary recommendations from the scoping study, the consultant indicated the need to harmonize the age of consent for sex with the minimum age for marriage. Also, she stressed the need to increase the severity of punishment for perpetrators of child marriage, and increase resource allocation to state institutions with child protection mandate, to enable them work effectively.

A child marriage survivor from the Upper West region was at the convening to share with stakeholders how she was rescued at age 16 and got the opportunity to further her education, enabling her to complete Tumu SHTS this year. She indicated that the Sissala East GES Girl Child Officer facilitated her rescue, and with psychological and material support from ActionAid Ghana and CAMFED, she returned to school.

In his closing remarks, Eduwatch Executive Director, Kofi Asare urged government not to trade the resourcing of social protection initiatives in an attempt to avert the country's economic crisis. He also called on the media to help publicize the hotline (0800 000 100) for reporting child marriage cases, while urging the GES to publicise the hotline in all schools, and educate the children on its use.

The convening is part of Eduwatch's 16 days activism against Gender Based Violence. Participants were drawn from the Department of Children, Department of Social Welfare, Domestic Violence Secretariat, DOVVSU, Ghana Prisons Service, Ghana Education Service. CSOs within the child protection space including ActionAid Ghana, ICDP and NETRight Ghana as well as media partners also participated.

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On Thursday 8th December, Eduwatch joined other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in a Forum to discuss Ghana's 2023 education budget.

Eduwatch Executive Director, Kofi Asare addressing stakeholders on Eduwatch's key positions on the 2023 education budget stated that, an austerity budget must first take care of the poorest, by providing more opportunities for poor children to access public basic education, especially in underserved communities where majority of the 1.2 million Out-Of-School children aged 4 to 17 years are. He added that the decline in GETFund allocation from GHC 2.6 billion in 2022 to GHC 1.8 billion in 2023 is unacceptable.

According to the Executive Director, Eduwatch believes the channelling of 61% of GETFund Levy to other sectors is illegal and inconsistent with the Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment and GETFund Laws. He called on the Minister of Finance to take immediate steps to reverse the channelling of GETFund Levy to other sectors, otherwise Eduwatch shall be compelled to pursue a judicial remedy to salvage the education sector's purse.

© Africa Education Watch

On Tuesday 6th December, Eduwatch participated in a capacity-building workshop on Gender Transformative Education (GTE) in Tamale.

The workshop was organised by the Northern Sector Action on Awareness Center (NORSAAC) for Oxfam partners working on the DANIDA Strategic Project 2 (DANIDA SP II) which among others aims at removing gender barriers to girls' educational participation and progression. This was part of NORSAAC'S 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence.

Making a presentation on Oxfam's GTE Conceptual Framework, Ibrahim Salia Adamu, the DANIDA SP II Project Coordinator, noted that the framework aims at raising social consciousness on issues limiting girls' education, changing negative gender norms, increasing access to formal and non-formal education for girls, and promoting policy, legislative and institutional changes for transformative education. He tasked partners working on different aspects of GTE to develop a synergy in sharing GTE knowledge, experiences, and practices.

Participants were also taken through various presentations on Education and Gender Justice, Oxfam's GTE Conceptual Framework and Best Practices in Girls' Model Junior High Schools in Ghana.

Eduwatch was represented by Divine Kpe (Senior Programme Officer) and Claudia Duedu (Gender and Basic Education Fellow)

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On Thursday 1st December, Eduwatch participated in a 16 Days of Activism Seminar organized by the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA), with support from OXFAM. Eduwatch was represented by Executive Director, Kofi Asare.

Addressing a group of youth activists and CSOs as part of the global 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence, Kofi acknowledged gains made in achieving and exceeding gender parity in basic schools, and identified key factors that affected girls retention, participation, completion, transition and academic performance. He also made a case for a Gender Transformative Education Policy that addresses gender gaps in pedagogies, curriculum, textbooks, learning, school infrastructure, school and community attitudes among others.

He also charged government to remove taxes on sanitary towels to make them affordable to poor girls who are likely to skip classes for days during that time of the month.

© Africa Education Watch

On Thursday 1st December, Eduwatch participated in a Breakfast Meeting on Procurement organised by the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition. The meeting presented findings from the monitoring of 58 projects in Techiman and Konongo districts.

Key findings in the report included the non-publishing of contracts on the Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS) website, failure of Assemblies to disclose project costs, non-availability of project information on about 27 projects, and limited participation of citizens in project implementation contracts processes.

Contributing to discussions on the findings, Eduwatch's Snr Programme Officer Divine Kpe, indicated that Eduwatch has observed spending inefficiency as a major setback in education sector financing, largely, resulting from questionable procurements in the sector.

He recommended that the Public Procurement Authority ensures competitive and transparent public procurement systems become a norm in state institutions.

© Africa Education Watch