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On the 59th anniversary of the Universal Children’s Day, the UK and Ghana are celebrating partnership in the education sector and the UK’s new approach to education in Ghana.

A statement issued by the British High Commission in Accra said it was in support of President Akufo-Addo’s vision for "Ghana Beyond Aid".

The statement said Mr Philip Smith, the Country Director for the Department of International Development (DFID) and Professor Kwesi Yankah, the Minister of State for Tertiary Education, signed a joint statement on the new approaches to education being adopted by the Government of Ghana and the UK in the presence of the Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.

The statement said the UK had invested £400 million in education in Ghana over the last 20 years, and that, over 700,000 girls and boys in primary and secondary school had been supported over the past 10 years.

It noted that at the tertiary level, the UK had supported over 35,000 new teachers to enter schools with more practice and better skills since 2015.

It said the UK had also supported 2,500 Ghanaians to study in UK universities, gained degrees and had develop their professional skills over the last 60 years.

Ahead of the signing, Mr Smith, said: “The education partnership between the UK and Ghana is now maturing to support Ghana to move beyond aid.
We applaud the President’s vision for a self-reliant Ghana".

"In the long-term, economic development with investment in jobs and human capital is the sustainable pathway to self-reliance.

"But Ghana Beyond Aid must address the issues of why, despite economic growth, inequality in Ghana is rising.

"That’s why we are excited to support the Ministry of Education’s ambitious new agenda for reform, which set out in practical terms, how the vision of Ghana Beyond Aid will be implemented in the education sector, in line with the Education Strategic Plan 2018-2030 and Sustainable Development Goal 4.

"This new approach aims to ensure no child is left behind, and improve learning outcomes for all Ghanaian children.

"We support this shift, and this means an even sharper focus on partnership. We want to support the Government of Ghana to enhance the quality of the education system, through the right technical assistance for key reforms which will have a direct impact on teaching and learning.

Also, targeted support to leave no child behind and make education inclusive for all; and stronger partnerships between education institutions in the UK and Ghana, and with other development partners.”

The statement said as a follow up to this new approach to education in Ghana, Mr Smith also announced the launch of DFID’s new £4.95 million Education Beyond Aid programme which would support the Ministry of Education’s Reform Secretariat to drive forward reforms, and provide two-year transitional funding and technical assistance to government to support 40,000 out-of-school children through Complementary Basic Education.

The statement said the DFID would continue to support the Ministry of Education’s teacher education reform through ongoing technical assistance from T-TEL over the next two years.

It said the DFID’s new £9.6 million Girls Education Challenge ‘Strategic Approaches to Girls’ Education’ project through World Education, which would support 20,000 vulnerable girls to enter school, of which 2,000 would be girls with disabilities.

It said British Council’s new Connecting Classrooms four programme would support school children to develop core skills through training teachers and school leaders, and provide more school partnerships and exchange visits between Ghana and the UK.

The DFID leads the UK’s work to end extreme poverty. It is tackling the global challenges of our time including poverty and disease, mass migration, insecurity and conflict. Our work is building a safer, healthier, more prosperous world for people in developing countries and in the UK too.