By Kodjo Adams
Accra, Aug. 20, GNA – The World Bank has called for greater use of research, data and implementation evidence to improve learning outcomes and equip Ghanaian children with relevant skills.
The Bank said Ghana had made significant progress in expanding access to education but continued to face challenges in ensuring that children acquired essential foundational skills.
Mr Robert Taliercio, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, made the call at the Ghana and Regional Foundation Learning Evidence and Implementation Support Day in Accra.
He said the World Bank remained committed to supporting Ghana’s efforts to create “more and better jobs”, stressing that this required equipping children with foundational skills in reading, mathematics and digital literacy.
“Access alone is not enough,” the representative said, noting that too many children completed the early grades without mastering the skills expected for their age.
The World Bank said gross enrolment at the kindergarten and primary levels had increased significantly, from about 60 per cent in 2000 to more than 100 per cent in 2026.
Mr Taliercio said a child born in Ghana today could expect to complete about 10.7 years of schooling, describing the progress in access to education as “really notable”.
He said the increase in enrolment, however, had not been matched by comparable improvements in learning outcomes.
The World Bank cited data showing that only 49 per cent of candidates passed the West African Senior School Certificate Examination in Mathematics in 2025.
It also cited an International Finance Corporation (IFC) study which found that only 22 per cent of adolescent boys and eight per cent of adolescent girls possessed relevant information and communications technology (ICT) skills in 2019, despite more than 60 per cent of jobs requiring at least basic digital fluency.
Mr Taliercio said the situation highlighted a mismatch between the skills produced by the education system and the requirements of the private sector.
“This mismatch” contributes to difficulties faced by young people in the labour market, with youth unemployment significantly higher than the national rate,” he said.
Mr Taliercio said Ghana was scaling up a comprehensive package of interventions to address foundational learning challenges, particularly in reading and mathematics.
The interventions, supported through the Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP) and additional financing, were being implemented nationwide.
Mr Taliercio stressed that the success of the reforms would depend not only on sound programme design but also on effective implementation and the systematic use of evidence.
He urged stakeholders to focus discussions on three key questions: what the evidence showed,
what was being learned from implementation and what should be prioritised in the months ahead.
“The best designs sink or swim on the implementation,” the representative said, emphasising the importance of learning from challenges encountered during implementation.
Mr Taliercio said Ghana had the leadership and partnerships required to make meaningful progress, but stakeholders needed to remain focused on using research and evidence to improve results for children.
“Our task is to use evidence well and keep the focus on research and results for children,” he said.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Kodjo Adams
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