The SEIP aims at supporting the implementation of the Government’s Secondary Education Programme as outlined in the National Education Strategic Plan (2016 to 2030). The development objective of the project is to increase access to secondary education in underserved districts and improve quality in selected low performing schools. Funding was provided by the World Bank through a credit facility of USD 156 Million for the following activities:
A
Construction of 23 new Senior High Schools (SHSs) each having 1 No. 4-Storey E-Block, 1 No. Canteen Block, 1 No. Block of 8 Staff Flats, 1 No. Head Teacher’s Bungalow and 1 No. Gate House.
– 21 No E-Blocks; 20 No. Canteen Blocks; 20 No Blocks of staff flats; 20 No. Head Teacher’s bungalow and 20 No Gate Houses have been completed
B
Upgrading of classrooms, computer laboratories etc. in 50 SHSs out of 125 existing SHSs
– All contracts for the upgrading of structures in the 50 SHS have been completed. The structures are being used by the schools
Improvement in the quality of education in 125 existing SHSs by:
Awarding at least 10,000 scholarships to needy students mostly girls
– currently 10,027 students have benefited from scholarships for 3 years of SHS
Providing funds to 125 SHSs to carry out activities that will lead to improvement in learning outcomes through School Performance Partnership Plans (SPPPs)
-All 125 SHS’s have implemented their SPPP’s successfully leading to an improvement in their WASSCE results
Providing extra training to teachers of Science and Maths in the project schools and carrying out extra activities to improve learning of Science and Maths by students
– 2,620 Science & Maths teachers have been given extra training by the Ghana Education Service in handling challenging topics and addressing Chief Examiners’ concerns
– A Maths and Science for Schools in Sub-Saharan Africa (MS4SSA) Program using modern methods of teaching Science and Maths is being piloted in 25 SHS. Each school uses smartboards, clickers and mBot robots
– An annual Science Olympiad to test students knowledge on main thematic areas in the curriculum; practically solve problem-based questions; develop interest in STEM careers and encourage teamwork and collaboration has been organized since August 2018
Creation of a School Mapping portal to provide information on public schools to parents, students and school administrators
-The portal has been created (www.ghanaschoolsinfo.org) and hard copies of school Digests printed and distributed to public Basic schools, public SHS, District and Regional Education offices
Using ICT to facilitate teaching and learning
– the portal (www.icampusgh.com) has been created and is currently configured for all SHS 2
& 3 in all public schools. The offline version is the I-box which has been installed in 139 public SHS with learner texts (notes with exercises),interactive quizzes; audio visuals and interactive lessons (virtual laboratory practicals and simulations for SHS 1, 2 & 3 core subjects; learner texts and interactive quizzes for 7 elective subjects and Open source content (learner text and audio visual lessons) for Science Programmes.
Using the results of research to inform Government policy on secondary education
– 3 Researches have been conducted into improving the teaching and learning of Science & Maths as well as teacher assessment competency
Providing training to school heads and administrators on modern methods of managing schools
-763 School Heads and Assistants have so far been trained in modern methods of school management
A Grievance Redress Mechanism has been established for stakeholders to communicate their grievances with the Ministry. The numbers have been mapped and activated on MTN and AirtelTigo and Vodafone. The toll-free numbers are 0800-200-001; 0800-200- 002 and 0800-200-003.
The original project was to run from October 2014 to November 30, 2019. However, based on its performance, the World Bank approved Additional Financing (AF) of USD 40 Million and extended the project closing date to November 30, 2021. The AF targeted 106 additional SHSs bringing the total number of beneficiary SHSs to 231.
The scope of work under the AF is to upgrade facilities in the remaining 75 SHSs of the original 125 SHSs and continue with the quality interventions for the 231 SHSs. Facility upgrade at 6 SHS have been completed so far. Scholarships have been modified to bursaries in view of Government’s Free SHS Policy.
The above activities are all undertaken in strict compliance with the World Bank’s regulations and Ghana country systems as far as procurement, financial management and safeguards issues are concerned with regular Monitoring and Evaluation to ensure that the targets stated in the results framework of the project are attained.