Ghana

The Girls' Education Challenge (GEC) has had three projects working in Ghana, which aim to improve learning opportunities and outcomes for over 130,140 of the country's marginalised girls. Access to good quality education will give these girls the chance of a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.

The GEC was launched in 2012 and is the largest donor-funded global girls' education programme. Through their strong focus on improving literacy, numeracy and life skills, GEC projects are supporting girls to seek out and secure their full potential. Projects supported under the Leave No Girl Behind initiative aim to reach highly-marginalised girls and and will support essential interventions to provide literacy and numeracy and skills relevant for life and work.

GEC projects are implementing a diverse range of interventions in a variety of different contexts. They are financing access to education, providing materials for learning and creating safe spaces to learn. They are working with governments, communities and schools to raise standards and to build support for girls' education. They are training and mentoring teachers and governors to improve the quality of teaching and the effectiveness of school governance. And they are working directly with girls to raise their aspirations and achievements and enable them to transition from primary education to secondary education, or technical or vocational education and training or employment.

The GEC implements a rigorous approach to monitoring and evaluation. All projects must demonstrate the additional impact they are making on girls' learning outcomes, using robust statistical approaches. This is generating a substantial source of qualitative and quantitative evidence on successful strategies for girls to learn and thrive at school.

Girls' education in Ghana

Ghana has made good progress in increasing access to education and narrowing gender gaps in schools. The abolition of school fees nationwide of basic education in 2005 had an immediate and substantial impact on enrolment. However, the increase in enrolment has led to challenges, including shortages of teachers (especially in remote areas) and a lack of school infrastructure, with a negative impact on the quality of teaching and therefore girls' learning outcomes.

Harmful social and cultural attitudes towards education remain, especially for girls. Poverty levels also make it difficult for parents or guardians to carry the associated costs of education, including uniforms, stationery and food. Many parents are also reluctant to bear the perceived 'opportunity costs' of sending girls to school rather than engaging them in domestic or paid work.

Projects

Making Ghanaian Girls Great! - project completed implementation in January 2022
Plan International UK

Plan International UK worked to ensure that 8,780 girls, including both existing primary and junior high school girls and out-of-school girls, were helped to successfully complete primary school, transition into secondary school and achieve higher literacy and numeracy results. The project enabled girls to gain life-skills and the self-confidence to pursue happy, fulfilled and economically productive lives. The project drew on Varkey's solar-powered, satellite-enabled distance learning EdTech infrastructure to deliver interactive learning sessions to students, teachers, communities and government officials in Accra and the Volta region of Ghana. 72 government school classrooms were transformed into learning and information hubs used to train and educate community members. A targeted stipend scheme addressed financial barriers to girls' attendance and served as an incentive to families to ensure girls made the transition to secondary school.

Discovery Project - project completed implementation in December 2020
Impact(Ed) International

Impact(Ed) International has supported marginalised girls to improve their literacy and numeracy skills, develop their life skills and raise their aspirations. Impact(Ed) International’s approach combined professional development of teachers with video technology and teaching resources. These were used to support learning gains, the completion of primary schooling and the transition to secondary school, and to enable the pursuit of both educational and life goals. By improving the quality of education with government partners and shifting community attitudes and actions to further support girls’ education, the project aimed to positively impact girls (and boys) now and for years to come. Impact(Ed) International, in partnership with Ghana’s Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service, reached a total of 800 primary and junior secondary school communities.

Leave No Girl Behind project

Strategic Approaches for Girls' Education (STAGE) - project completed implementation in February 2023
World Education Inc. (WEI)

WEI’s Strategic Approaches to Girls’ Education (STAGE) project supported up to 17,000 10 to 14-year-old, out-of-school girls and 15 to 19-year-old teenage mothers, as well as other highly marginalised girls living in target regions across Ghana. The project adapted learning materials and established designated learning centres for these girls which delivered literacy, numeracy and life skills training. It helped to establish pathways for girls’ successful transition into formal and informal education programmes, vocational training and eventual employment or self-employment.