Media partners with UNICEF Ghana education team
As part of activities in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the year 2030, UNICEF Ghana in partnership with the Ministry of Education has held its media café, focusing on the need to build a more resilient education system.
The UNICEF’s education media workshop was on increasing access and inclusion, ensuring quality teaching and learning environments, building relevant skills as well as boosting a stronger and more resilient education system.
The workshop was to highlight the need for safe schools to nurture all children including those with disabilities, equip teachers with resources to promote inclusive learning and end corporal punishment for children to reach their full potentials.
UNICEF Ghana Education Chief, Christin McConnell, indicated that, 97% of UNICEF-supported Complementary Based Education Learners, who were previously out of school, have completed an alternative learning course.
She added that, 80% graduates have also transitioned to formal primary schools, making a major leap in their education.
“96% of girls who received scholarships from UNICEF have also completed their basic education and had successfully transitioned to the Senior High School (SHS),” she disclosed.
She revealed that, irrespective of their achievements, about 1.2 million children aged from 4 to 17 are out of school, including about 623,000 primary schools aged children who are not enrolled sometimes due to financial supports.
Ms McConnell stressed that, about 40,000 children with disabilities have never attended school and also, only 1 in 3 students at the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions are females.
Emphasising on their progress in quality and early childhood education, she stated that, over 120,000 children in kindergarten have received basic learning materials and have also been screened for general health conditions as part of “My First Day at School Activities”.
“In just one academic year (from 2023 to 2024), the percentage of learners at Level 3 English reading proficiency went up from 34% to over 50%, similarly, learners of Level 3 mathematics proficiency increased from 19% to 44%,” she mentioned.
“Despite the progress made in access to education in Ghana, foundational learning levels remain low because children are still struggling to read at their grade levels,” she disclosed.
According to her, a result from the 2022 National Standard Test (NST) indicates that, only five out of every 10 children in grade four can read at grade level.
Education Officer, UNICEF Ghana, Rhoda Enchill said through a collaborative effort with Ghana Education Service (GES), specifically the Special Education Division and the Peace Corps from the US as well as UNICEF, a harmonised Ghanaian Sign Language Dictionary had been developed to improve the sign language between the teachers and the learners for smooth learning.
According to her, teachers in all their schools for the deaf have been trained on how to use the new harmonised sign language for the learners to pick the way of signing.
By Janet Odei Amponsah