Background

The U.S. Government Basic Education assistance to Ghana through USAID seeks to expand access to, and improve the quality of primary education. The Education program places attention on: increasing the percentage of school enrollment, especially girls; helping to ensure that children who complete primary school are able to read at grade level; improving the management and accountability of school systems; increasing community involvement in schools and education; and preventing HIV/AIDS in the education sector.

USAID/Ghana Basic Education activities include:

Increasing access to education: USAID supports the establishment of complementary education centers in northern Ghana for school-age children, particularly girls, who are unable to access and participate in formal schools. USAID also provides scholarships to girls at risk of not completing their primary education.

Improving the quality of instruction in primary schools: Using funds provided under the U.S. President's Africa Education Initiative, USAID helps to accelerate the acquisition of literacy by teaching Grade one pupils to read their local language before helping them to transition to English.

Improving management and accountability of schools: USAID provides grants at the district level, and trains staff to improve education planning and management.

Increasing community involvement in education: USAID supports efforts to increase parental and community involvement in schools as well as increase the capacity of parents and communities to lobby for school improvements.

Preventing HIV/AIDS and reducing its impact in the education sector: USAID helps teacher training colleges to provide HIV/AIDS education for teacher trainees so that they are better prepared to address HIV/AIDS issues in their schools and communities.

Key achievements of USAID/Ghana Basic Education program through 2007:

• USAID was instrumental in enrolling over 15,000 out-of-school children into complementary education centers and in transitioning 5,434 of these children, including 2,869 girls into formal schooling.
  
  
• USAID support for training and certification of untrained teachers expanded from 5,000 in 2005 to 21,000 untrained teachers in 2007.
  
  
• Pupils in USAID-supported schools able to read English language with an understanding increased from 20 percent in 2005 to 56 percent in 2007.
  
  
• The number of teachers using effective methods to teach reading in USAID-assisted schools rose from 47 percent in 2005 to 60 percent in 2007. 
  
  
• USAID supplied 19,502 pre-primary children and 423,899 primary school children with teaching and learning materials in 2007.