current issues in education in ghana

Ghana’s high school system sets many students up for failure: it needs a rethink

PhD Candidate, Queen's University, Ontario

PhD Candidate, Hong Kong Baptist University

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The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Around the world, educational research has found that students’ achievement and experiences largely depend on which school they attend and the resources available to support learning. Educational policies mostly determine the distribution of resources to schools and a student’s choice of school could be limited by these policies.

In Ghana, secondary schools are grouped into categories based on their performance in the West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination. This is a school-leaving exam that grade 12 students take before progressing to tertiary institutions. Some schools are better resourced based on their history and the largesse of past students. They use networks to build infrastructure and provide key learning resources that the government does not provide.

Students are placed in a category of school based on their exam results at the end of grade 9. Students with low scores are mostly placed in under-resourced schools (category C). Students with high scores are mostly placed in better-endowed schools (A and B).

So, if an individual performs poorly in grade 9 he or she is placed in a school that also tends to do poorly in grade 12.

The Ghana Education Service 2020 report revealed that in 76% of senior high schools captured in the report, fewer than half the students passed the school leaving exam. This helps explain why only 8% of schools are in category A.

Categorisation of students based on academic achievements has been documented as spurring inequities. It encourages stereotyping, discrimination, and marginalisation.

This effect appears to show in the fact that about 46% of the students who qualify for tertiary education in Ghana are from the top 20% of senior high schools. Only 8% of students from the bottom 20% of the schools qualify for tertiary education.

Against this background, we examined how secondary school categorisation in Ghana shapes students’ learning and schooling experiences.

We found that students in less endowed schools had lower self-esteem than students in more endowed schools. Category C students felt less confident about their academic abilities. In contrast, students in the most prestigious schools reported that they were more confident about their academic abilities. They believed they were better placed to succeed academically and hence felt highly motivated to learn.

Grouping schools into categories worsens inequities and we believe this system should end.

Student motivation

We interviewed 20 students in total: nine males and 11 females aged 18 to 20. They were enrolled in government-funded secondary schools. Using in-depth, unstructured interviews, we invited students to share their experiences of attending categories A, B or C schools, their learning motivation and how their experiences shaped their learning.

We found that students’ motivation to learn differed significantly based on the category of school they attended.

All the participants in the undervalued schools reported low motivation to learn. They were eager to change schools if they had the means to do so. A 2020 study found that affluent parents used their monetary influence to secure placement for their wards in better schools. Those in category C schools cited academic performance, the quality of teaching and learning, the resources available and negative community perceptions of their school as reasons for wanting to move.

Conversely, all the students in highly valued schools reported that they were motivated to learn and preferred to stay in their schools because of the prestige, quality of teachers, high academic abilities of their peers and the availability of education resources that promoted lifelong learning.

A central theme that emerged from the interviews was disparities in teaching and learning resources. When the participants were asked what affected their academic work, all the students in category C schools alluded to shortcomings in teaching and learning materials, physical infrastructure such as science resource centres or laboratory and computer access. Those in category A and B schools reported that their schools were well equipped with resources which promoted learning.

Students in category C schools reported that most of their teachers perceived them to be less intelligent than those in valued schools. Category A and B students responded that they believed their teachers had high expectations of their academic abilities and supported them to succeed in their learning.

All the students in category C schools said their communities’ perceptions and beliefs about their schools were mostly demotivating. People – including their parents – did not have high expectations of their academic performance. They had already been labelled “not good enough”. Students in category A and B schools reported a narrative that elite schools produce the best and brightest students in the country.

Effects of the category system

In Ghana’s secondary school system, placing a student in a category C school is tantamount to setting the student on a path of academic and social failure because these schools have fewer resources and record poorer academic results in the school leaving exam.

In effect, students who may need support to succeed in their schooling are placed in schools that are under-resourced. After three years of secondary education, these students who face double marginalisation are required to take the same exams as students in better-equipped schools, if they want to continue to post-secondary education. Only a few students from category C gain admission into higher learning institutions.

Category C students are restricted from accessing the opportunities that come with higher education. They also have lower confidence and esteem.

Recommendations

The study’s sample size was relatively small, therefore findings cannot be generalised. Nevertheless, this study has provided an initial understanding of students’ experiences.

It shows that the inadequate resources in low performing schools pose a major barrier to academic success. Grouping schools into categories also exacerbates inequities by encouraging people to discriminate against students in low ranked schools.

Therefore the distribution of students and resources should be more equitable. We recommend that the system of categories based on exam results should be phased out. Every student should have the opportunity to be enrolled in well resourced secondary schools.

• Secondary education
• Open educational resources
• Government funding
• High school
• education inequity
• School reform
• Academic abilities
• girls schools
• Education inequality

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Tackling the learning crisis: data-driven decision-making in ghana's education system, the impact of data-driven decision-making on learning.

In the bustling corridors of Ghana's schools, a quiet innovation is taking root—one driven by data, collaboration, and a shared commitment to transform education for every child. At the heart of this transformation lies the 'Differentiated Learning Plus (DL+) Dashboard,' a pioneering initiative that is reshaping the way student, teacher, and community data are collected, analyzed, and utilized.

Globally, the learning crisis is stark with 70 per cent of children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple text by age 10. In Ghana,  80 per cent of children still do not acquire basic skills in literacy and numeracy by the end of primary school.

Ghana’s DL+ programme, supported by UNICEF and the Gates Foundation, aims to address this learning crisis through the evidence-based Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach, which tailors instruction to each student's ability level rather than age. The DL+ programme is being implemented in Grades 2 to 6 across 501 schools, with plans to expand to all 10,000 primary schools in Ghana in coming years.

Targeting instruction by learning level rather than age or grade has proven to boost reading and math outcomes while fostering inclusivity and equity in the classroom. However, inherent in this approach is the need for regular assessments and tracking of each student’s learning, a component that is critical not only for understanding each child’s progress but also to make timely and informed decisions around programme strategies. This tailored approach demands significant extra time from teachers to regularly assess each child and manually record and track their progress. It is also crucial for headteachers, principals, and district and national-level administrators to access this data in real-time to address challenges and gaps efficiently.

A Call for Data-Driven Solutions

Despite existing systems for collating learning data in Ghana, a critical gap persisted—a manual, fragmented approach to data collection that hindered timely decision-making and impacted learning outcomes. Ghana recognized that the success and scalability of the DL+ programme depended on data-driven decision-making and government ownership from the start

It was time for Ghana to adopt a proactive approach to data collection and analysis.

Enter the DL+ Dashboard: A Collaborative Solution

UNICEF in collaboration with the Government of Ghana and its key education agencies, endeavored to develop an all-encompassing tool that would consolidate assessment data, provide real-time insights, and empower stakeholders at all levels to make data-driven decisions. Government ownership and development were integral from the beginning, ensuring alignment with national education priorities.

Drawing on local expertise and global best practices, the dashboard is the locally grown solution provided by a passionate and innovative ICT statistics coordinator at the sub regional level. It was designed to align with Ghana's education priorities locally while incorporating key indicators that would allow Ghana to measure its progress in addressing the learning crisis against global targets. This solution was recognized at the national level to be a pathway to access authentic data that could be used for decision making. Its user-friendly interface and customizable features ensured accessibility for educators, policymakers, and community leaders alike.

"Coordinating inputs of all implementing agencies forming the Technical Working Group during the design of the dashboard has strengthened ownership and oversight by all.  Now members can get real time data on teachers and learning progress of learners, through the dashboard."      Isaac Yeboah, National DL Coordinator – Ghana Education Service Headquarters

"My motivation for developing the DL+ Dashboard comes from a longstanding dream to enhance Ghana's educational system by empowering GES to track and analyze student learning outcomes.  Recognizing the potential of the DL+ concept to fulfill this vision, I was driven by the belief that accurate and accessible data could significantly improve education quality and student performance. This inspired me to create a tool that provides real-time insights for data-driven decision-making." Murphy Frank – ICT/Statistics Coordinator for Ghana Education Service-Eastern Region

Unlocking the Power of Data: Features and Impact

The DL+ Dashboard represents a paradigm shift in education management for the country, offering a range of features tailored to address Ghana's unique challenges:

• Streamlined Assessment: By integrating various assessment tools and data sources, the dashboard reduces duplication and saves valuable teaching time.
• Real-Time Insights: Educators can access up-to-date information on student progress, teacher performance, and community engagement, enabling targeted interventions and support.
• Progression Tracking: Through the dashboard's progression matrix, stakeholders can monitor learning outcomes at the district, school, community and student levels, identifying trends and areas for improvement.
• Feedback Mechanisms: The dashboard facilitates communication and feedback loops, fostering collaboration between teachers, headteachers, district directors, and national authorities.
• Systemic Integration: The dashboard has been embedded into government systems, with shortcuts on officials' computers and training on its use to ensure seamless integration.

For teachers, the dashboard has not only allowed them more time for teaching, but it also provided a color-coded and easy-to-use system for quickly identifying which students were falling behind.

“I am very happy with the DL+ dashboard, especially the colour coding for our learners... the dashboard is helping me identify and support learners with specific skills, something we couldn't do before. We used to teach broadly in alignment with the curriculum without considering individual abilities." Theresa Agoba Mawutor, A DL+ Teacher at Abiriw Presby B School

The “community profiles” section of the dashboard is presented during meetings with parents and community members to show the number of students in each of the red, green and yellow categories. This feature has been especially useful in fostering wider interest and engagement in the process of improving student learning outcomes within each community.

Since its implementation, the DL+ Dashboard has catalyzed positive changes across Ghana's education landscape:

• Capacity Building : District directors, headteachers, and teachers have embraced data-driven decision-making, enhancing their analytical skills and accountability.
• Community Engagement : The dashboard has empowered families and communities, fostering greater involvement in students' learning journeys through its community-level school profiles.
• Scalability and Sustainability : With support from the Global Partnership for Education Multiplier Grant, plans are underway to scale up the dashboard's use nationwide, ensuring its long-term impact on learning outcomes.

Lessons Learned

The conceptualization and implementation of the DL+ Dashboard led to some key lessons:

• Data driven solutions require a collaborative approach and rigorous training at all levels for it to be impactful.
• Regular training on technology adoption and content is essential for effective classroom integration.
• Efficient implementation requires investments in training, technology, and infrastructure, leading to long-term benefits by facilitating timely decisions and improving learning outcomes.

The DL+ Dashboard exemplifies the transformative power of data-driven innovation in education and can serve as a template for other countries implementing or scaling similar approaches. As Ghana continues its journey towards quality, inclusive education for all, the dashboard stands as a testament to what is possible when data speaks and stakeholders listen.

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Ghana: Online Education for Delivering Learning Outcomes during the COVID-19 School Closure

Beneficiary Story/Quote

“ We know that one of the challenges in the country is the digital divide. Under the GALOP project, students who have a learning disability or hearing impairment were provided with pre-loaded tablets with digital versions of the programs. ”

“ We used eight weeks … for recovery learning during the third term to teach students what they could not learn during the school closure.”

“After staying home for a year, the students missed a lot…The accelerated learning has really helped both teachers and learners.”

“When there was lock-down, I took part in the Ghana Learning TV. ”

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 threatened to reverse the hard-earned gains in access to schooling and improved learning in Ghana. Schools in Ghana closed for 10 months, starting in March 2020, when the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in the country. This situation affected an estimated 9.2 million students in kindergarten, primary, lower, and upper secondary schools, as well as the 0.5 million tertiary education students. In addition, it impacted the 450,000 teachers in the public and private educational institutions. 

In response to the pandemic, the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES) — the agency responsible for implementing policies to ensure that school-age Ghanaians receive an education — introduced remote and distance learning programs, including the distribution of learning packages to school children. This response faced the additional challenge of variable access to communications technologies across geographic and socioeconomic status, particularly impacting children in poor and rural households.  

The GALOP supported Ghana’s COVID-19 Coordinated Education Response Plan during the extended school closure, ensuring sanitization and safety of schools, while also working to build a resilient education system. The project launched distance learning via TV, radio, and online channels. It supported the distribution of printed materials to support home learning. In addition, it provided for community-based, complementary basic education classes. 

The project also helped to launch the Edmodo Learning Management System, which created a platform that enabled all schools, students, and teachers to connect remotely. Furthermore, to support remedial and accelerated learning that accompanied the reopening of schools in early 2021, the project supported in-service teacher training for targeted instruction and rapid student assessment to over 70,000 teachers (41 percent of whom are women) in 10,000 beneficiary schools. As the school shutdown was drawing to a close, the project supported back-to-school campaigns. These included radio and TV messages by education managers and practitioners in various languages, encouraging students to return to school.

The project worked in several ways to reduce learning losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including by leveraging digital technologies, enabling safe school reopening, as well as supporting back-to-school campaigns. The  major results included: 

• More than 1,600 lessons were developed to students across the country using distance learning modules. These lessons included 1,201 lessons for Ghana Learning TV, a virtual classroom produced by the Ghanaian government, with 975 video lessons uploaded to the Ghana Online Library. 
• Printed teaching and learning materials were distributed to 2.9 million children during the school closures to mitigate the effects of poor or limited access to TV, radio or other technologies between December 2020 and February 2021. 
• The Edmodo Learning Management System , which provides a platform for online learning and encourages communication between teachers, students, and parents, was launched during the National Education Week on November 5, 2020. More than 35,000 students were registered in the Learning Management System. As of August 2021, the system had a weekly usership of 540 individual users, 6,241 classes (teachers and classes), and 202 informal groups. At the kindergarten, primary and higher secondary levels, more than 10,000 public and 6,000 private schools were registered on the Learning Management System. At the higher secondary level, 630 public schools and 285 private schools were registered. 
• Devices pre-loaded with educational content were deployed to 3,000 students in special-needs schools located in various regions of Ghana. 
• To address the learning gap resulting from and exacerbated by the shutdown, training in providing targeted instruction was conducted for over 70,000 teachers between December 2020 and February 2021. The project supported the launch of targeted instruction, rapid student assessments, and remedial education programs for 5,000 schools (covering about 5.8 million students).
• When schools reopened in January 2021, close to 100 percent of all students who were previously in school returned to school, thus reflecting the success of the back-to-school campaigns.
• The program implemented interventions to provide additional hand-washing facilities. It also supported the drilling of 100 boreholes to provide access to clean water in selected basic schools in the program areas.

World Bank Group Contribution

The GALOP was funded by IDA in the amount of $150 million, as well as a Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Education Sector Plan Implementation Grant ($23.9 million). The GALOP additional financing consisted of COVID-19 Accelerated Financing in the amount of $14.8 million from the GPE, as well as $25.5 million from the Ghana Education Outcomes Fund, originating from the Global Partnership for Results Based Approaches (GPRBA) Trust Fund. The government is also contributing $4.5 million. The COVID-19 Accelerated Financing specifically supported the strengthening of remote education service delivery, including distance learning; safe school reopening and reentry; and the strengthening of management to strengthen education sector resilience.    

The GALOP was prepared with a joint team of representatives from the Ministry of Education, the GES, the Center for Distance Learning and Open Schooling, the National Teaching Council, and the Ghana Library Authority. In addition, there is a strong partnership among key development partners in Ghana’s education sector, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Kingdom's Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Weekly and bi-weekly meetings with the Ministry of Education, the GPE, and development partners during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed partners in the education sector to coordinate their support for the Government’s COVID-19 Coordinated Education Response Plan.  It also enable them to receive feedback from the Government about implementation issues and developments. 

Looking Ahead

In future, there is a need to harmonize policies concerning the use of digital devices in basic education schools. This would help to ensure an enabling policy environment, as well as the sustainability of distance education. The World Bank is supporting the Government of Ghana in: (i) reviewing policies concerning technology use in schools; (ii) conducting rapid surveys concerning teacher and student accessibility to internet and digital technology; and (iii) developing an operational plan to expand internet connectivity to all basic education schools. These activities are supported by Trust Funds, as well as  pipeline operations, including the Ghana Digital Acceleration Project (P176126) approved in April 2022.

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Global Education Monitoring Report

Press release

Ministry of Education commits to prioritising five key policy areas to improve children’s learning in Ghana

Accra, 12 October 2020 – The Ministry of Education has today launched a new report providing an in-depth, topical analysis of foundational learning in primary education in Ghana. Entitled Spotlight on Basic Education Completion and Foundational Learning: Ghana , it is one of five country reports and a continental report on Africa produced in partnership with UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA). Launched along with a campaign supported by the Ministry, #BorntoLearn, this new initiative offers a diagnosis of the current state of foundational education in Ghana and identifies policy solutions that are critical for improving educational outcomes for all students in the country.

The report celebrates the great progress made toward accessible, high-quality education in Ghana. New data shows that 77% of children are now completing primary school, a figure considerably higher than 57%, where it stood two decades ago. Since 2017, the country has pursued ambitious reforms, including the introduction of free senior high school for all pupils, and the innovative ‘one teacher, one laptop’ scheme introduced to ease the burden which the COVID-19 pandemic placed upon the education system. The report also notes the recent transformation of the Ghanaian approach to pedagogy, which places collaborative, student-centred learning at the forefront of curriculum.

Despite this progress, the report finds that significant challenges regarding the quality of education, remain prevalent. The majority of children (almost 80%) still do not acquire basic skills in literacy and numeracy by the time they reach the end of primary school. The report identifies the inconsistent delivery of education across the country as a particularly detrimental issue, with public schools in disadvantaged and rural areas bearing the brunt of weak provision.

The recommendations of the report have been designed with both the recent positive developments to the Ghanaian education system, and its ongoing challenges, in mind. They are structured around five key policy areas which are identified as having the potential to strengthen and improve learning in Ghana:

• Improve teacher and school training: Introduce structured materials and support for professional learning sessions focusing on phonics and teaching at the right level. Provide structured, on-the-job education leadership training for all basic education schools.
• Invest in more textbooks: Ensure that textbooks and other teaching and learning materials reach classrooms.
• Look at innovative funding mechanisms: Explore new resourcing mechanisms for basic education, including results-based financing.
• Enhance coordination across government: Assist Regional, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Education Offices to prioritize objectives and oversee their achievement, providing supportive supervision to this end.
• Encourage local involvement : Consider ways of decentralizing decision making and enhancing local accountability.

Knowing how to read, write and make basic maths calculations sets the groundwork for success in school and beyond. Our vision in Ghana is for all learners to have these important skills when they finish primary school. There is still much work to be done, this is why the process through Spotlight is so critical in identifying the policy areas that we need to focus on to ensure we deliver the best educational outcomes for children and young people in Ghana

If children are equipped with foundational skills in mathematics and reading from an early age, they are more likely to reach their potential later in school and in life. The Spotlight Reports have looked at the positive practices happening in Ghana and across the continent to improve children’s learning. A new peer-learning mechanism has been launched alongside this report hosted by the AU called the ‘Leveraging Education Analysis for Results Network (LEARN)’. We look forward to Ghana participating and sharing with other countries on the continent the lessons they have learnt as they have implemented their own policies on foundational literacy and numeracy

About the Global Education Monitoring Report:

Established in 2002, the GEM Report is an editorially independent report, hosted and published by UNESCO to monitor progress on education in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and monitor the implementation of national and international strategies to help hold all relevant partners to account for their commitments.

About the Spotlight report 

The Spotlight on Primary Education and Foundational Learning in Africa report, Born to Learn, is the result of a partnership between the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and the African Union. The report, which was launched alongside the #BorntoLearn campaign, analyses the current situation of foundational learning, recognises ongoing challenges, and identifies key policy solutions to improve the access to, and quality of, education across Africa. 

# Born to Learn Campaign

The Minister of Education of Ghana has supported the #BorntoLearn launching alongside the report, showing his support for the recommendations in the publication and calling for others to do so too.

Media Contacts:

Kate Redman, UNESCO Paris. Tel: +33 671786234 [email protected]

Gina Dafalia, UNESCO. Tel: +447375318760 [email protected]

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