By Edward Acquah
Accra, April 25, GNA – Professor Kwame Akyeampong, a renowned expert in International Education and Development, has called for urgent, equity-driven reforms in Ghana’s education sector to tackle persistent learning gaps.
Delivering a public lecture at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) in Accra, he stressed the need for a deliberate redistribution of educational resources to support disadvantaged communities.
Prof Akyeampong noted that despite significant progress in access to education, learning outcomes in Ghana remained weak, with disparities across regions.
“By 2022, 97 per cent of children aged six to 14 completed primary school, up from 61 per cent in 2000. Yet approximately 450,000 children in this age group remain out of school, and large regional disparities persist,” he said.
The lecture was on the theme: “Reconceptualizing the ‘Learning Crisis’ for Social Justice: The Case of Ghana.”
Prof Akyeampong explained that high enrolment figures, particularly at the kindergarten level, often masked deeper inefficiencies, such as over-age enrolment and repetition.
“Kindergarten gross enrolment reached 122 per cent by 2022/23, and JHS enrolment shows wide gaps between gross and net rates, reflecting delayed entry and repetition. These patterns signal inefficiencies rather than true universal progression,” he said.
Professor Akyeampong, who is also a Senior Fellow at CDD-Ghana, emphasised that achieving equity in education required targeted investment, not equal distribution of resources.
“Equity means that for those who are disadvantaged… those who have more have less so that those who have less can get as much as they need to be on the same level playing field,” he said. “In education… we don’t give everybody the same thing. If you give everybody the same thing, those who are rich get more,” he said.
Prof Akyeampong identified improving foundational learning outcomes as a top priority, particularly ensuring that children attain basic literacy within their first year of schooling.
“It should not be the case that in a year or two we have children who go to school in Ghana and do not achieve basic literacy within one year. That has to happen immediately,” he stressed.
Prof Akyeampong also called for strict enforcement of the official school entry age to reduce dropout rates, particularly in rural and disadvantaged communities.
“If you attend school at a later age, you are more likely to drop out… So making sure that children start school at the right age is something that we can do,” he said.
On policy reforms, Professor Akyeampong advocated for decentralising teacher recruitment and resource allocation to help districts attract and retain teachers with local incentives.
He also recommended the use of mother tongue instruction at the foundational level and greater involvement of mothers in early childhood education to enhance learning outcomes.
“Every child… should have their first encounter in schooling in a language they understand. When you do that, learning becomes meaningful,” he said.
Professor Akyeampong warned that failure to address educational inequities could undermine national development, describing widening gaps between the rich and poor as “anti-development.”
He urged policymakers to adopt intentional, evidence-based strategies to ensure that no child is left behind in Ghana’s education system.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey