Following news reports from Faana, an island community near Weija, indicating nine (9) pupils had drowned while returning from school on May 10, Eduwatch blamed the Ministry of Education for not taking preventive action to avert the situation after a similar incident occurred in January 2023. When a similar incident occured at Atitagorme/Wayokope four (4) months ago, Eduwatch prompted the Ministry to ensure that life jackets were provided to all pupils and teachers in island communities, but the Ministry failed to heed the advice, only providing life jackets for pupils in the affected town.

Eduwatch in a statement on May 11, while sympathizing with the bereaved families and the education community, called on the Ghana Education Service, Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and island District Assemblies, to develop a roadmap towards immediately providing life jackets for pupils and teachers in island communities, liaise with the relevant local authorities to strengthen health and safety compliance, and construct schools in island communities.

Read Eduwatch's full statement via the link below:
https://africaeducationwatch.org/publication/drowning-of-pupils-form-faanaa

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On Monday May 15, Eduwatch participated in a three-day workshop in Ho to validate the Complementary Education Legislative Instrument, Complementary Education Policy, and Complementary Education Resource Mobilisation Strategy developed by the Complementary Education Agency (CEA). The three (3) documents are aimed at strengthening the capacity of the CEA to perform its mandate of providing complementary education to out-of-school children, youth and adults, and to provide occupational skills training and competency-based training for out-of-school, non-literate youth and adult learners.

Prior to the validation, in March 2023, Eduwatch participated in a consultative workshop in Koforidua towards the drafting of the three (3) documents. The Organisation was represented in these two workshops by its Snr. Programme Officer, Divine Kpe, with other participants drawn from the CEA, GES, MMDAs, Civil Society and academia.

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On Friday May 19, Eduwatch participated in a workshop organised by the the Tax Justice Coalition on Ghana’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and its implications for education, social protection, as well as the responsibilities for CSOs. The workshop was timely for stakeholders to discuss, forge a common interest to advocate for an equitable and just tax system that serves both the developmental and democratic aspirations of the citizens of Ghana.

Representing Eduwatch, our Executive Director, Kofi Asare indicated that the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (2023-2025) for the delivery of education and social protection has suffered significant cuts. He added that the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) which was one of the conditionalities of the IMF has already affected the growth of the banking sector following redlights in the monetary policies to manage inflation, with some businesses folding up and inflation still galloping at about 45 per cent.

Mr. Asare further bemoaned government's introduction of new taxes in an attempt to rake in domestic revenue, in the face of the IMF programme. With the new taxes expected to rake in about GHC 4 billion annually, he questioned whether the approach will translate into improved social service delivery, or will go into debt servicing. He finally called for a much needed engagement between CSOs and the Ministry of Finance to review the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework.

The workshop brought together participants with representations from the Ministry of Finance, Ghana Revenue Authority, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Trade and Labour Unions, the Media and other relevant groups.

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From Tuesday May 30 to Thursday June 1, Eduwatch participated in a virtual ECOWAS Education Experts and Ministers of Education meeting to develop a framework and strategy for establishing an ECOWAS Education Agency. With support from Oxfam, Eduwatch and the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA) are working with the ECOWAS Commission to harmonize TVET systems, including a qualification framework to promote the recognized mobility of skills within the sub-region.

The meeting ended with the adoption of a report of the Education Experts Group by the Ministers of Education. The ECOWAS Education Agency shall coordinate and harmonize education systems, including qualification frameworks in the sub-region to facilitate recognized human capital mobility and standardization of quality.

Eduwatch was represented by our Executive Director, Kofi Asare.

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On Wednesday May 31, Eduwatch published the third edition of its Education Accountability Report (EAR III). The EAR is an abridged composite compilation of various Auditor-General's (A-G's) reports in the education sector.

Eduwatch publishes the EAR annually as a guide to aid in advocating implementation of major recommendations in the most recent A-G's reports on the education sector of Ghana to improve governance and accountability systems in the Sector Institutions. The report also forms part of our mandate to promote accountability in the use of public funds to develop education.

EAR III was gleaned from the following reports:
1. Special Audit Report on the Recoveries made from Disallowed Expenditure in the AuditorGeneral’s. Reports from 2017 to 2020 and Payroll Savings as at 30th September 2022,
2. Report of the Auditor-General on the Public Accounts of Ghana - Ministries, Departments, and other Agencies (MDAs) for the Year Ended 31st December 2021.
3. Report of the Auditor-General on the Public Accounts of Ghana - Technical Universities for the Year Ended 31st/December 2021.

Click the link below to access EAR III:
https://africaeducationwatch.org/publication/education-accountability-report-3

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On Wednesday May 31, Eduwatch published its Annual Report for 2022. The report presents an account of activities undertaken by the Eduwatch team from January to December 2022, as well as outcomes of the organisation's engagements with stakeholders.

One of the key outcomes of the 2022 calendar year was Eduwatch's contribution to the allocation of GHC 2.1 million to the Complementary Education Agency for the implementation of Complementary Basic Education (CBE) in Ghana in the 2023 Budget. This was the first time such an allocation was made for CBE implementation since the donor-funded dispensation.

Eduwatch continues to work in partnership with key education sector stakeholders and partners in furtherance of its mandate to influence education policy in promoting an equitable, accountable and responsive education system that assures quality and equal opportunities for all, while establishing its status as a leading education policy research and advocacy organization in Africa, drawing on cross-cultural, transnational and international comparative perspectives across the continent.

Please find below a link to access Eduwatch's 2022 Annual Report:
https://africaeducationwatch.org/publication/eduwatch-2022-annual-report

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On Thursday, June 1, Eduwatch honoured an invitation from the All African Students Union to provide capacity building training for the leadership of its allied students unions on education financing mechanisms in Ghana. The workshop was aimed at strengthening the capacity of the student leaders from various Students Unions on how to analyse education budgets to enrich student-led advocacies for improved education financing in Ghana.

In his presentation, Eduwatch Snr Programme Officer, Divine Kpe highlighted various dimensions from which participants can approach analysis of the education sector budget. The dimensions included a trend analysis of funding sources, meeting of international education financing benchmarks, resource allocation among various education sub-sectors, and budget execution analysis, among others. Mr. Kpe also touched on various documents student leaders can refer to when engaging in education budget analysis for their advocacy.

Touching on the 2023 education budget, Divine explained the implications of the budget cuts to basic education particularly, as well as the implications of the capping of GETFund on infrastructure development in the education sector.

Participants in the workshop included student leaders from the Teacher Trainees' Association of Ghana, National Union of Ghana Students, University Students Association of Ghana, and Private University Students Association of Ghana, among others.

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On Wednesday June 7, Eduwatch in partnership with the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) and the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Platform on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) submitted a petition to the President of the Republic, the Chief of Staff at the Presidency, the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education and the Minister of Education. The petition was primarily a call on government to as a matter of urgency, drop its plans to procure laptops (e-textbooks) to replace printed textbooks for Senior High School (SHS) students who already have adequate supply of same.

The three CSOs, representing over 500 organisations advocating spending efficiency and equitable financing of education in Ghana submitted that e-textbooks can never replace printed textbooks, but rather compliment them. The organisations also called on government to immediately shelve the idea, and ensure that basic schools have the full complement of textbooks, four (4) years after the introduction of a new curriculum.

A joint press statement on the CSOs' position is available on Eduwatch's website via the link below:
https://africaeducationwatch.org/publication/cso-position-on-govt-intention-to-replace-textbooks-with-laptops-in-shs

Thank you.

© Africa Education Watch

On Tuesday June 6, under the auspices of School for Life Ghana, Executive Director for Eduwatch, Kofi Asare, addressed a northern Ghana stakeholder conference of education stakeholders on the state of public basic education in Ghana, in Tamale. The activity was patronized by over 200 education stakeholders in the five (5) Northern Regions, including the regional Ministers, Ghana Education Service Directors, educators, parents, Ministry of Education and Civil Society Organizations.

Presenting on Education Financing and its implications on infrastructure in the Northern Regions, Mr. Asare indicated that, until an equitable financing mechanism for pre-tertiary education which prioritizes basic education rather than second cycle is adopted, there will continue to remain severe inequities in basic education infrastructure in Ghana. He called for a purposive education resource allocation and management framework to provide affirmative action to bridge the widening rural-urban gap in baisc education infrastructure.

On Wednesday June 7, our Executive Director had a meeting with the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service on strategies to advance Gender Transformative Education pedagogy. Among issues discussed were strategies to enhance teacher capacity in Gender Responsive Pedagogy using CDP and CoE curriculum reinforcements.

Eduwatch is advocating increased acceptance of the ban on corporal punishment, alternative effective sanctions, and an expedited approval of the revised teachers’ code of conduct to strengthen the enforcement of the ban on corporal punishment, thereby creating a safer and enjoyable school environment for boys, girls and teachers.

© Africa Education Watch