Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, Deputy Minister of Education, has expressed satisfaction about the steady improvements of the Ghana Accountability and Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP) in basic schools.
The Deputy Minister said since the introduction of the project in 2020, there has been improvement in outcomes with the excellent skills exhibited by the teachers to keep the pupils motivated in learning.
Rev Fordjour said this when he led a delegation from the Ministry of Education to monitor the implementation of the GALOP in the Greater Accra region and Eastern Region.
The team visited Ahwerase Presby Primary and Kindergarten School and Konkonuru Basic School in Aburi in the Eastern Region.
In the Greater Accra Region, the team visited ICODEHS Islamic Basic School and St Francis of Assisi Basic School in Adenta.
Under the GALOP initiative, teachers were trained in differentiated learning and targeted instruction, which included teaching children reading and numeracy skills and the preparation of teacher-l
earning materials.
In 2021, the government introduced a national test to generate data on the performance of pupils in English Language and Mathematics, of which Ahafo Region emerged first.
Rev Fordjour said the government was implementing the project to ensure that over 10,000 basic schools with the lowest performance in the country were transformed.
‘We are excited about what we have seen so far. Teachers are very confident, they are highly motivated, you go to the classrooms, even the setup has been changed.
‘They have identified their learners based on their learning capabilities and addressed them accordingly,’ he said.
He stressed, ‘This is the kind of effective teaching that is taking place. It shows that 21st-century learning is taking place where core competencies of critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving are being imbibed in our learners.’
Ms Anna Bjerde, Managing Director, in Charge of World Bank Operations, visited Ghana in July 2023 to monitor the implementation of GALOP in sele
cted schools.
She was impressed with the strong engagement between the teachers and the learners, which culminated in good reading and comprehension among the pupils.
She said, ‘Through the GALOP initiative, Ghana is empowering teachers with a structured programme, providing them with lesson plans, learning materials, and ongoing skills-based coaching.’
‘GALOP has a strong focus on learning outcomes, complementing efforts to improve access, equity, and governance in the education sector,’ she said.
Madam Elizabeth Afriyie, Municipal Director of Education, Akuapem South in Aburi, said the project had led to improvements in pupils’ performance in reading and literacy.
Madam Gifty Mussey, Municipal Director of Education in Adenta, said the project had built the confidence of the learners to actively participate in the teaching and learning processes.
Present at the monitoring are Madam Angela Affran, Acting Coordinator, GALOP, Nana Yamoah Hagan, Deputy Director, in Charge of Performance, GALOP, and Mr Seto
r Agubretu, Technical Assistant, GALOP.
GALOP is a project funded by the World Bank, the Global Partnership for Education, and the Education Outcomes Fund.
The project objective is to improve the quality of education in low-performing basic education schools and strengthen education sector equity and accountability in Ghana.
GALOP is a result-based financing project in which funds are disbursed to the Ministry for continuous implementation of the project based on the achievement of the Performance Based Conditions and Indicators.
Source: Ghana News Agency