Ghana: Transforming Education for Out-of-School and Marginalised Youth

“SDG 4 is a commitment to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. This goal is a pivotal drive for positive change, emphasising the transformative power of education in fostering a sustainable and equitable world.” (UNESCO)

A stark reality persists with less than five years remaining to achieve SDG 4, with approximately 125 million (51% of the total global population of 251 million) children and youth in sub-Saharan Africa out of school. Poverty, gender inequality, rural marginalization, civil and ethnic conflicts, violence, and negative sociocultural practices (e.g. forced child marriage and child fosterage) are among the key factors that prevent millions of children and youth from attending school. In Ghana alone, over 1.2 million out-of-school children and youth (OOSCY) face compounded vulnerabilities including child labour, displacement, and cultural patterns that deprioritise education, particularly for girls (Ghana Statistical Service, 2022). 

This blog shares the journey of two passionate women, Dr Catherine Appiah Pinkrah, Director of the Complementary Basic Education Agency under the Ministry of Education in Ghana and Dr Leslie Casely-Hayford, Director of Associates for Change, a research think tank based in Ghana serving the West Africa Region who are leading evidence-based, policy-driven partnerships to create locally rooted accelerated education pathways for marginalised children and youth in Africa.

Accelerated Education Programmes: A Proven Solution

Over the last 25 years, through successive robust longitudinal studies – some of which have been supported by GPE KIX – evidence has revealed that  Accelerated Education Programmes (AEPs) significantly reduce basic education costs for government and increase the learning efficiency of the target population. 

At the 5th KIX Global Symposium, we presented our groundbreaking GPE KIX research on AEPs, spotlighting transformative strategies to tackle the learning crises exacerbated by displacement, conflict and pandemic-related disruptions. These programmes, including Speed schools, Complementary Basic Education (CBE) and Girls Empowerment Models, offer a roadmap for reclaiming educational opportunities across West Africa. 

Key highlights of our research regarding the effectiveness and scaling of Accelerated Education Programming in West Africa include:

• AEP learners acquired foundational learning skills (numeracy and literacy) in just one year, equivalent to skipping four years of primary schooling (KG to P3) in the formal school system.
• AEP beneficiaries attain 50-55% competency levels in reading comprehension and are at par with their non-AEP counterparts who have attained primary 3 or 4 levels.
• More than 90% of AEP graduates transitioned to upper primary school in Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Since 2015, Ghana’s Complementary Education Agency (CEA) and NGO’s working in the sector have reintegrated over 500,000 out-of-school children and youth through the Complementary Basic Education (CBE) programme.
• AEPs lead to enhanced gender equity in education access. AEPs particularly benefit girls at risk of dropout, early marriage and teenage pregnancy, developing critical thinking and negotiation skills along with the confidence to negotiate formal education instead of marriage.
• The annual expenditure per AEP learner is 60.00 USD, compared to $180.00 for formal primary education in Ghana. This amount allows governments to save four to five years of primary education costs per child, creating resource savings for scaling.

• AEPs generate positive shifts in parental attitudes toward education, particularly for girls, and provide education access and continuity in fragile, conflict-affected zones where traditional formal schools do not operate often due to a lack of trained teachers and harsh conditions.

  

Community-Led Education Innovation

Complementary Education Agency (CEA) & Associates for Change’s (AFC’s) blueprint for scaling inclusive education across West Africa

Through collaborative policy leadership, we are driving transformative education reforms in Ghana. As the Policy Learning Working Group Co-Chair, CEA leverages research to advance AEPs, while AFC has partnered with CEA to develop curriculum reforms, operational approaches and budget advocacy. AFC provided evidence to inform Ghana’s CBE Legislative Instrument, embedding the CBE models in national policy to drive scaling. Our partnership targets the reintegration of 20,000+ OOSCY annually, using one per cent (1%) of basic education funding for CBE.

“I believe that our work has shifted policy from aspirations to action. Institutionalising CBE in the educational system ensures no child is excluded,” remarked Dr. Catherine Appiah-Pinkrah, Director, CEA, Ministry of Education, Ghana.  

In June 2024, AFC and CEA, with the support of GPE KIX, convened leaders from Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Mali, and Burkina Faso in an international conference on “Strategies for out-of-school children in West Africa”. The conference focused on harmonising solutions to address OOSCY, sharing best practices on community engagement, community-driven and gender-responsive models, while developing a regional blueprint for scaling AEPs. The conference call for action recommended that West African government efforts towards addressing the OOSCY crisis need to: 

1. Fund accelerated education–7% of the government budget and 10% of global donor-backed funding should focus on AEPs, particularly in rural and deprived areas.
2. Integrate AEPs into national education systems through policy legislations and action plans for OOSCYs
3. Foster partnerships between stakeholders (research institutions, CSOs, private sector, and higher education institutions) to improve the AEP programming and scaling.

AFC has collaborated with CEA to develop a community-driven scaling research laboratory to pilot localised strategies to expand CBE in the Northern region of Ghana – “The Community-driven CBE Lab isn’t just a lab, it’s a beacon for inclusive systems”–Dr. Leslie Casely-Hayford, Director, AFC. This partnership aims to empower communities to co-design sustainable foundation learning solutions, such as scaling up CBE in areas particularly affected by fragility and potential conflict, forging a replicable model for West Africa and paving the way for wider educational access.

“When communities lead and governments invest, even the most marginalised children can rewrite their futures.”

– Mrs.  Pinkrah.

Conclusion 

Every child out of school in Ghana and West Africa has the potential to unlock the nation’s potential, achieve foundational literacy, and create opportunities for themselves and their communities. The partnership between CEA, as a state implementer, and AFC, as a research think tank, in addressing OOSCY challenges in West Africa exemplifies how collaboration between governments, researchers, civil society, and development partners like GPE KIX can address the barriers to education and highlight alternative pathways to basic education based on evidence. 

Though successes have been realised through AEPs– “Our journey is far from over. But with evidence, advocacy, and community-led education innovation, we  prove that every child can learn–no matter where they start and wherever they live.”  -Dr Casely-Hayford.

Learn more

Watch us discussing this research during the 5th Annual Global Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX) Symposium.

Read about the cost-effective options for enhancing transition and progression of hard-to-reach populations in basic schools in Ghana, comparing the value of Ghana’s Comprehensive Basic Education (CBE) programme versus the cost of formal schooling.

Find out more about the Impact and Effectiveness of Accelerated Education in Northern Ghana.

About the 5th Annual Global GPE KIX Symposium 

The 5th Annual Global Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX) Symposium online event, ‘Promoting a Culture of Evidence-Use in Policymaking—Challenges and Opportunities,’ brought together over 700 participants for two days of discussions on evidence-based education transformation. It highlighted how GPE KIX initiatives successfully influenced policy, addressed local education challenges, and drove meaningful change. 

Watch the full broadcast:

5th Annual GPE KIX Symposium – Day 1 

5th Annual GPE KIX Symposium – Day 2

Explore Additional Expert Insights:

Read other blogs from our distinguished speakers to deepen your understanding of the symposium's key themes. These blogs provide comprehensive coverage of the Thematic Breakout Sessions and their most valuable takeaways.

Tanzania: How School-Based In-Service Teacher Training (SITT) is Transforming Classrooms 

Togo: Empowering Schools and Districts with Data

Pakistan: School leaders as agents of change for equity and inclusion