By: Jacqueline Emefa Ampo
A Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) report has revealed fluctuating academic performance in Basic and Senior Secondary Education between 2000 and 2023. The report is, titled “Access to and Quality of Basic and Secondary Education in Ghana.” It indicates that while there has been improvement in enrollment numbers and gender parity, the consistency of West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results has been notably uneven.
The report, launched in Accra, underscores persisting challenges in ensuring access to quality education. The Ghana Statistical Service, identified significant gaps despite efforts to expand educational opportunities.
Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, presented key findings from the report.
“The story line is not different from the WASSCEperspective. It goes up it comes down, the significance decline was in 2014, it varies across different subjects. So, the descendible trends upper trends that we saw in the case of access to education as we’ve seen from the pupil-trained teacher ratio and from the BECE-WASSCE perspective, they have fluctuated over the same time period.”
Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, saidsignificant increase investment in Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) will strengthen the country’s entire educational framework.
“We need to invest more in our basic education and that will be the policy blueprint of President Mahama to do more investment in the provision and attainment of Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education.”
The Minister touched on the critical issue of regional disparities, specialized education needs, and the importance of ensuring equitable distribution of educational resources in the country.
“We will have to prioritize equitable distribution of resources, improve rural school infrastructure and deploy more trained teachers particularly to the underserved areas. That I promise government will do, we still do not have enough sufficient resources but we’ll do our best to.”
The report is to contribute to the analysis and monitoring of education policies, which are crucial for understanding the progress in access to and quality of education in Ghana. It will also serve as a valuable guide to engender public discourse in identifying areas that require additional action and resources to achieve the Strategic Sector Policy and the SDGs by 2030.
The report recommended collaborative effort to bridge gaps, enhance quality, and ensure that all Ghanaian children have access to a robust and equitable education.
