School for Life (SfL) calls for national action to improve basic education inclusion

School for Life (SfL), as part of the Citizen-Led Actions for Educational Accountability and Responsiveness in Ghana (CLEAR) Project, over the weekend organised a national stakeholder’s convening on the state of public basic education and social inclusion in basic education in Tamale, the Northern region

The event under the themes; “Promoting Equitable Basic Education in Ghana’s Resetting Agenda” and “Building Inclusive Societies through Education; the role of national and sub-national actors” highlighted the progress made in Ghana’s basic education and social inclusion programming especially in Northern Ghana.

The project is implemented by School for Life and its consortium partners funded by the Global Partnership for Education.

It also highlighted key gaps in government programmes and interventions to enhance quality learning outcomes and inclusive development processes.

The convening brought together practitioners from civil society, citizen groups, students, young people, government agencies, academia, donor agencies and other development partners, and the media to engender positive discourse and inspire critical reflections aimed at promoting equitable quality education delivery and enhancing the quality of wellbeing of marginalised people in the country.

In her welcome address, the director of School for Life, Ms. Wedad Sayibu, said stakeholders cannot campaign for equity in educational access without placing social inclusion at the centre of our advocacy.

“Equity is not only about enrolment numbers or infrastructure. It is also about recognising and addressing the social and cultural barriers that prevent certain groups of children from fully participating in learning. When policies do not reflect the unique needs of girls, children with disabilities, or minority communities, they reinforce exclusion”.

“Social inclusion ensures that education responds to the diversity of learners, values every identity and their varied learning needs, and empowers every child to succeed.’

She said the convening, thus, creates a platform to discuss these issues honestly, share evidence from communities, influence policy, and spark collective action at national and sub-national levels.

According to her education remains a cornerstone of Ghana’s social and economic transformation agenda and that foundational weaknesses threaten sustainable progress.

“Major studies, including the MoE’s Sector Performance Report (ESPR) of basic education financing, reveal chronic underinvestment in early childhood and primary education where learning deficits begin.

“Thousands of KG and primary pupils still learn in dilapidated structures, and multi-grade teaching remains widespread due to teacher shortages, particularly in deprived districts. These constraints directly affect learning levels, contributing to Ghana’s high learning poverty indicators as noted in a recent World Bank finding,” she said.

She further added that, “these constraints directly affect learning levels, contributing to Ghana’s high learning poverty indicators as noted in a recent World Bank finding.

Ms. Wedad indicated that her organisation and partners for the last thirty years, have worked to expand access to quality basic education for children in underserved communities, particularly in Northern Ghana.

“From our early work in Complementary Basic Education (CBE) through which we have helped thousands of Out-of-School Children (OOSC) to become literate in their mother tongue, to our continuous advocacy for inclusive education systems, School for Life has remained a trusted and credible Civil Society Organisation championing the rights of children, communities, and schools. Our work has transformed lives, empowered families, and contributed to national policy reforms that are still shaping Ghana’s education landscape today, she added.

She revealed that so far, over 456,500 children have passed through their CBE programme, some of whom have proceeded to the highest ladder in academia.

“Through our CBE programme, some of whom have proceeded to the highest ladder in academia. This milestone only pushes us to work even harder as an organisation to ensure that every child, irrespective of their location gets the relevant quality education”.

School for Life (SfL) called for a national action to make GESI a School Governance priority, not an afterthought, invest in accessibility and dignity-enhancing school infrastructure, transform teaching workforce through sustained training in inclusive pedagogies, mobilize communities as co-guardians of children wellbeing and futures, and fix data and financing gaps.

On his part the Minister of education Hon, Haruna Iddrisu acknowledge the challenges confronting education sector most especial at the basic level and assured the stakeholders of government commitment to address those challenges.

He revealed that about $180 million had been secured from development partners including the world bank and the Jacobs Foundation to support foundational learning.

He said government would engage civil society organisation’s such as school for life in the implementation process.

“My focus at the Ministry is to strengthen foundational learning which holds the key to the success of secondary education. We must increase investment and the support for basic education,” he said

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