Learning outcomes at basic education improve — Deputy Education Minister

The Deputy Minister of Education in charge of general education, Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, has said there has been an improvement in learning outcomes at the basic level due to interventions implemented in collaboration with partners in the country.

He said data from the National Standardised Test had revealed an increase in the number of learners who could read, from two per cent in 2015 to 38 per cent in 2022. Rev. Fordjour explained that the ministry had, for the past four years, collaborated with non-governmental organisation, Right To Play (RTP), to implement a Partners in Play Project (P3) to enhance the quality of education for children aged four to 12 years from 2019 to 2024.

The project was also aimed at incorporating play-based learning approaches into the school curriculum and teaching practices.

Impact of learning

Rev.Fordjour was speaking at a dissemination session in Accra on the impact of learning through play. The event was organised by the Ministry of Education and RTP on the theme, "Accelerating learning outcomes through play-based approaches: Unlocking the successes and insight from play-based learning programmes in Ghana."

Rev.Fordjour said the government was transforming teaching and learning to address gaps in access and quality education in the country. “RTP approaches have impacted some 614 learners across the country and supported the Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Projects (GALOP) schools targeted over 10,000 least performing schools,” he said.

He added that they had reached out to nearly 17,000 teachers who had been trained in play-based learning. “We have seen learners in the intervention schools reading 51 more words per minute than they were reading before the intervention and about 86 per cent of learners within those intervention schools,” he said.

He added that 81 per cent of teachers were also demonstrating effective play-based teaching and delivering confident learning to their learners through play-based pedagogy.

Education Ministry

The Country Director of Right to Play, Josephine Mukakalisa, said the organisation had developed Gender Responsive Education and Transformation and trained more than 4,000 teachers from 2018 to 2023.