Government Launches $219m GALOP Initiative for Low-performing Basic Schools in Ghana

The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, launched the Ghana Accountability and Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP), which will help drive standards and quality in some ten thousand low-performing basic schools across the country.

Launching the Project, the President indicated that in spite of the numerous steps Government has taken, over the last three and half years, to improve basic education in the country, a lot more work needs to be done. ”We must address the problem of low learning outcomes that reflect in the performance of some of our children at the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA), and Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE),” he said.

To achieve the desired improvement in learning for all of Ghana’s children, who go through the school system, in literacy, numeracy and critical thinking skills, Government is determined to ensure that children in every part of the country are taught by professional teachers. ”We remain focused on ensuring equitable teacher deployment, and strengthening accountability regimes. That is why Government is pleased to be collaborating with the World Bank in introducing the Ghana Accountability and Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP),”added the President.

Under GALOP, the Government will invest some two hundred and nineteen million dollars ($219 million) on a comprehensive set of interventions that addresses constraints from teaching to learning in our schools. Through this Programme, teachers, in the early grades, will be provided with continuous training, in line with the new curriculum; schools will receive teaching and learning materials; heads of schools will be trained on improved school management techniques; and supervision and assessment systems will be strengthened.

The Government has implemented significant reforms to improve access to quality education, infrastructure, teacher training and professionalisation, curriculum development, school inspection, and technical and vocational education and training. Through the Free SHS policy, 1.2 million Ghanaian children, the largest in the history of the country, are now in the country’s education ecosystem, four hundred thousand (400,000) of whom would otherwise have been excluded.

”Over the last three and a half (3½) years, we have done a significant amount of work to boost education at the primary school level. In September 2017, we introduced a new curriculum for kindergarten to primary school, that reflects the realities of our aspirations. Under this administration, we have increased the capitation grant by one hundred and twenty percent (120%), from GH¢4.50 per child to GH¢10.00. We continue to invest in infrastructure, and in the supply of teaching and learning materials for our children,” said President Akufo.