The Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank, Madam Anna M. Bjerde, has expressed excitement over the results of the Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP), funded by the International Development Association (IDA) of the Bank.
It is for this reason that she has assured to continue to invest in these interventions.
“World Bank is happy with the results of the GALOP, in that children are beginning to read, and they are reading with understanding, and not just with the elite schools, as children everywhere who benefit from the GALOP…”
Madam Anna M. Bjerde made this known when she, together with a team of World Bank Directors and the Deputy Minister for Education, Rev. Ntim Fordjour, visited the GALOP School at New Gbawe Municipal Basic 1 School yesterday, 12th July 2023.
The team further visited the Ghana Tech Hub and Ghana Innovation Hub at the Accra Digital Centre to inspect activities and projects ongoing.
At a short media briefing after the tour, Madam Anna M. Bjerde contended that excellent skills are needed to keep children learning and motivated by teachers, and that the children had great reading and comprehension skills.
She further added: “Human capital is important for development; learning helps people move from poverty, improves their lives, and have a better living.”
Speaking on the projects by the Hubs at the Accra Digital Centre, Madam Bjerde said: “Projects like this test out; we see people train and bringing out new products and services not known; we need to assess the progress of these businesses that come to train here, and as long as we want growth and success, we are ready to commit more finances to support the Digital Centre and Innovation Hub.”
She disclosed that her outfit was working with government to reduce inflation, improve the business environment, and create more jobs.
Anna M. Bjerde assured that her outfit would continue to have discussions with the private sector to continue investing in Ghana, and growing with the country, particularly amid these current economic challenges
Background
Total funding under the GALOP is US$210.7 million, comprising US$150 million IDA (43% disbursed) and US$60.7 million Trust Funds (39% disbursed) (Approved Oct. 2019 and July 2020 and closing Dec. 2025 and 2026 respectively). The project is an IPF with Performance Based Conditions (PBCs).
School Financed through GALOP
The IDA funded Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP) supported seven out of the 28 basic schools in the Weija Ghawe municipality. The project supports 10,500 schools nationally. The school participated in the 2021 National Standardized Test (NST) for Primary 4 pupils and scored above the national average in English and mathematics.
The GALOP project specifically trained the teachers (face-to-face and online) in Differentiated Learning (DL)/Targeted Instruction (TI) which includes teaching children reading and numeracy skills at right level and the preparation of teaching-learning materials (TLMs).
Also, school-based coaching and mentoring by School improvement Support Officers (SISOs) and school heads has been implemented to support teachers.
GALOP also provided learning Grants to schools to support activities that improve teaching and learning, and the school received a total of GH¢4,465 (about US$450) in 2021.
The Funds were utilized for procuring TLMs and stationery, minor repairs, school-based training of teachers, sanitation and health, and support for needy students.
The Project Development Objective (DO) is to improve the quality of education in low performing basic education schools and strengthen education sector equity and accountability in Ghana. At least 2.9 million students have so far benefited under the GALOP exceeding the target of 2.3 million students, with girls comprising 47 percent.
Ghana Tech Lab and Ghana Innovation Hub
As a part of government’s effort to enhance digital entrepreneurship development and creation of digital innovation eco-system, two tech hubs (Ghana Tech Lab, and Ghana Innovation Hub) were established in the Accra Digital Centre in Greater Accra.
The Ghana Tech Hubs aim to facilitate further development of the innovation ecosystem in several ways. Since the inception in June 2018, over 22,300 participants (approximately 57% female representation) attended training and events at Ghana Tech Lab.
More than 1939 new jobs were directly created, in addition to over 1000 indirect jobs. Over 1200 businesses have been supported through mentoring, incubation, and acceleration programs.
The Ghana Digital Acceleration Project, GDAP (US$200 million) was declared effective on June 5, 2023.
The success and accumulated knowledge from the two tech hubs in Accra are critical as the GDAP supports scaling up Ghana’s digital entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem and local talent base aiming to position Ghana as a regional digital entrepreneurship hub in West Africa.
Also, the GDAP supports tailored digital skills training for PWDs to increase their access to and use of digital technologies and enable them to participate actively in the broader labor market.
