Participants of the GEOP initiative in class at Mimima community
The Education Outcome Fund / Ghana Education Outcome Project (EOF/GEOP), funded and supported by the Ministry of Education in Ghana (MoE), the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the World Bank, and the Education Outcome Fund, has increased enrollment in its implementation communities, particularly in Mimima in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East region.
The initiative reaches Out of School Children (OOSC) and integrate them into mainstream primary schools for improved learning outcomes literacy and numeracy.
Since its launch in 2023, about 21,316 participants have been enrolled.
The EOF/GEOP Complementary Basic Education initiative has three cohorts: Cohort 1 enrolled 6,619 participants, Cohort 2 enrolled 7,467, and Cohort 3 enrolled 7,652, with Plan International Ghana serving as the project’s service provider.
Participants were taken through numeracy and functional literacy in their respective local languages.
Project Manager for the Education Outcome Fund (EOF) at Plan International Ghana, Amadu Mahama, stated that the project aims to reduce illiteracy among children in rural communities.
“We initially targeted 20,000 children, but as of now, we have successfully enrolled 21,316 children back into school,” he stated.
He noted that data indicates that about 8 million children lack access to education, highlighting the need for the initiative.
The project is being implemented in the Savannah, North East, and Bono East regions.
Mr. Mahama urged parents to allow their children to enroll in school through the project.
“One of the challenges we face is parents’ willingness to send their children back to school, as many rely on them for support in economic activities such as farming. However, we have conducted community sensitization efforts to help parents understand the importance of education, leading to increased consent for enrollment.”
A participant Yakubu Zuli, told the paper that the project has been beneficial to her saying, “before I started that school I couldn’t read or calculate but immediately I enrolled now I can calculate for my mother when we go to the market to sell her farm produce. My wish to become a nurse in future to help my parents and my community.”
FROM Eric Kombat, Mimima