On Thursday April 4, Eduwatch honored an invitation from TV3 Network Limited to join the discussion in a policy dialogue on basic education in Ghana. Dubbed "Shaping the Future of Education: A Policy Dialogue", the forum delved into the future of basic education and the need to ensure quality and equal opportunities for all.

The dialogue explored innovative strategies, collaborative efforts, and effective policies aimed at enhancing access to basic education and desirable learning outcomes for all. It aimed at paving the way for a brighter, more inclusive educational landscape, to empower generations to come.

The full dialogue is available via the link below:
https://3news.com/video/shaping-the-future-of-education-a-policy-dialogue/

Credit: TV3/3news.com

On Friday April 12, Eduwatch participated in the National Conversation on Youth Democracy, on the theme, "Rise Up and Speak Out: Building a Stronger Ghanaian Democracy Together". The Forum was organized by the All-Africa Students Union (AASU).

In his presentation during a Panel discussion at the forum, Eduwatch's Executive Director, Kofi Asare, admonished young people, not to become stooges of political parties, due to what these parties may promise them. He further entreated the youth to demand accountability from political parties as part of their contribution to good governance and democracy.

Also on the Panel for the discussion on the theme were Hon. Kwame Edem Senanu - a member of the AU Advisory Board Against Corruption, Nana Akwasi Awuah - Managing Director of Precious Minerals Marketing Company, Ambassador Sena Siaw-Boateng - Chief Director of the Ministry of National Security, and Ohemaa Bediako of the Ghana Enterprises Agency.

The Forum was held at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, and had participation from academia, Civil Society and the media.

© Africa Education Watch

On Thursday April 18, Eduwatch's Executive Director, Mr. Kofi Asare met with the Executive Director for the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), Dr. Fred Kyei Asamoah. The meeting sought to discuss the need to expedite the implementation of a Green TVET Strategy for Ghana.

The two Executive Directors engaged extensively on Eduwatch's Green TVET Strategy and opportunities for synergy between the two institutions, in supporting the development and implementation of a Green TVET Strategy for Ghana. Mr. Asare used the opportunity to share the findings of Eduwatch's Green TVET Audit Report with the CTVET Boss, and extended an invitation the Commission to an Executive Briefing the following week to discuss the report's findings with other key TVET stakeholders.

© Africa Education Watch

Accra, April 30, GNA – The United Nations has disseminated results for the first year of implementation of the Organisation’s Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) agreement with Ghana.

The UNSDCF, which is being implemented from 2023-2025, was signed on 28 April 2023 to galvanise progress on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Ghana.

The UN held a dissemination dialogue with civil society organisations in Accra on Monday, during which the outcome of the framework in the first year of implementation was shared.

Under the UNSDCF agreement with Ghana, the UN will deploy an estimated US$517m over the cooperation period around three key pillars of work; Inclusive Economic Transformation; Equitable Access to Services; and Durable Peace in Ghana and the Sub-region.

The framework focuses on key issues such as financing, the environment and climate, digitalisation, urbanisation, data for decision-making, and strengthened partnerships across all pillars.

It also outlines the UN development system’s integrated contributions to the Sustainable SDGs along with a commitment to leaving no one behind, a human rights-based approach to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, and to building resilience, sustainability, and strengthening accountability.

Key results

Disseminating the findings at the workshop, Ms Gifty A. Tetteh, Partnerships and Development Finance Officer, UN-Ghana, said more than 105,000 micro, medium, and small enterprises and farmers had been supported to enhance their productivity and adoption of innovative practices for environmental, social and economic sustainability.

She said more than 6.3 million people had received access to basic services while more than 102,000 women-led businesses had been supported to improve their productivity through digitisation and access to finance.

The UN said more than 290,000 women and youth had accessed crucial services in HIV prevention, family planning, and gender-based violence, while more than 157,000 beneficiaries received cash transfers, including 129,000 females meeting their food and nutrition needs.

More than 2.9 million vulnerable people, comprising 640,000 pregnant women have been enrolled on the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Under education, Ms Tetteh said the UN leveraged its leadership of the Education Sector Development Partners Group, which enabled Ghana to mobilise a grant of $72m from the Global Partnership for Education.

Under peace and security, the UN said it mobilised $3.5m for peace-building efforts and supported the establishment of two regional peace councils to address critical conflict drivers among other interventions.

Under climate change, the UN supported the Government of Ghana to broker investment deals with bilateral investors towards the realisation of $500bn for pipeline projects in Ghana’s energy transition plan.

Mr Charles Abani, the UN Resident Coordinator to Ghana, said the UN was committed to supporting Ghana to meet its development targets under the SDGs to drive inclusivity and deliver prosperity for all.

He emphasised the need for Ghana to “turbo charge” the implementation of the SDGs and rallied CSOs and other relevant stakeholders to support the successful implementation of the frameworks to ensure that no one was left behind.

“If we are to make progress, then we have to double down on the things that will make a difference and really not focus on the things that are not making a difference,” he said.

Source: gna.org.gh

Eduwatch has published a Students Financial Assistance Responsiveness Study, which examines the responsiveness of financial assistance schemes to the needs of current and potential beneficiaries in Ghana’s tertiary education institutions, including Technical and Vocational.

Education and Training (TVET)-oriented universities. The study also makes recommendations to help address the challenges confronting the various financial assistance schemes in Ghana's tertiary education sub-sector, to make them more responsive to the needs of the students.

KEY FINDINGS
1. The average amount of money needed by a tertiary education student for an academic year was between GH¢ 15,700 and GH¢ 17,700, depending on the programme of study and the location of the institution.
2. Majority of students, including prospective ones, were more aware of the public Students Loan Scheme operated by the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF), than the GETFund and GNPC scholarships.
3. Students were unhappy about the relatively small amount of money disbursed by the SLTF, as well as the lack of transparency in the application process, and the untimely and infrequent disbursement of funds.
4. The SLTF, GETFund and GNPC Scholarships disbursed per unit average of GH¢ 2,250, GH¢ 2,400, and GH¢ 8,000 respectively, to beneficiaries for the 2022/23 academic year, which were determined to be inadequate in addressing all the needs of the students.
5. The major challenge facing the SLTF and GETFund was the late release of funds, which were also inadequate for their operations, thereby limiting the number of beneficiaries they could have extended their services to.

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. The government should increase the Students Loan and GETFund scholarship amount to students in line with their programme cost, and provide an opportunity for prospective tertiary students with admission letters to apply and use the outcome to secure admission.
2. The Ministry of Education must allocate at least GH¢ 220 million annually to the SLTF, to sustain the Students Loan Scheme.
3. The SLTF, GETFund, and GNPC should ensure early and timely disbursement of the funds to meet students at the point of their needs.
4. The government should increase budgetary allocation to the SLTF and GETFund scholarship scheme to enable an increase in the number of beneficiaries and amount receive per beneficiary.
5. The SLTF, GETFund, and GNPC must provide quick feedback to applicants on the status of their applications together with a more transparent criteria and processes for the selection of beneficiaries.

The report was commissioned by Eduwatch with support from OXFAM, and is available via the link below:
https://africaeducationwatch.org/publication/students-financial-assistance-responsiveness-study

© Africa Education Watch

On Friday, May 3, Eduwatch participated in the launch of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Regional Economic Outlook Report for Sub-Saharan Africa, dubbed “A Tepid and Pricey Recovery”.

According to the report, the overall regional outlook is gradually improving, with economic activity tepidly picking up. Growth is projected to rise from 3.4% in 2023 to 3.8 % in 2024, and 4% by 2025, with nearly two thirds of African countries anticipating higher growth. Africa is the youngest population in the world, with 70% under 30 years. By 2050, Africa will host 20% of a critical global labour market.

In parallel, median inflation has almost halved from nearly 10% in November 2022 to about 6% in February 2024, eventhough Ghana is doing about 25%. However, the high cost of credit, funding squeeze, and low domestic revenue requires countries to improve local revenue mobilisation and spending efficiency.

Representing education at the launch, Eduwatch Executive Director, Kofi Asare, urged African governments to prioritize competitive procurement as a means of improving spending efficiency, and called for stiffer spending efficiency conditionalities by the IMF, if Africa is to make any headway in improving spending efficiency. Spending efficiency in the education sector is critical to ensuring Africa produces globally competitive manpower, and enrolls its 98 million out of school children in school, with relevant learning outcomes.

A link to the report is available via the link below:
https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/SSA/Issues/2024/04/19/regional-economic-outlook-for-sub-saharan-africa-april-2024

© Africa Education Watch

Only 13% of public Junior High Schools (JHSs) have Information Communication Technology (ICT) facilities in Ghana, compared to 15% of primary schools (MoE, 2022).

Digital Literacy is a Core Competency in Ghana’s Basic School Curriculum, introduced 5-years ago.

In furtherance of Digital Literacy, the curriculum has Computing as a stand-alone subject from Upper Primary to JHS 3 (BS 4-9), and examinable at the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE).

About 10,000 JHS and 13,000 primary schools need ICT facilities for pupils to catch up with the rest of the world.

Ideally, the facilities should have been sufficiently available before the new curriculum was rolled out.

In deprived regions like Savanah (72%), North East (67%), Northern (65%), Upper West (61%), Upper East (56%) and Bono East (56%), more than half of children aged 6-14, did not use an ICT gadget. (GSS, 2021).

Digital Literacy at the basic education level was one of the challenging education indicators for Ghana in the recently published Global Youth Development Index, which Ghana reportedly ranked 125 out of 183 countries.

Political parties must take note of this deficit in their strategies for 2025-2028.

© Africa Education Watch