Accra: The World Bank has approved an additional financing of $117.13 million for the implementation of the $218.7 million Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcome Projects (GALOP) launched in June 2020. The grant aims to expand interventions to improve basic education in 10,000 targeted low-performing schools, extending them to all non-performing kindergarten and primary schools across the country.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Robert Taliercio O'Brien, the World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, announced the approval during an inspection visit to the Saint Thomas Presby KG/Primary School. This school, which educates 430 learners-207 girls and 223 boys-is one of nine beneficiaries of the project in the Korle Klottey Municipality in the Greater Accra Region. Mr. O'Brien highlighted the importance of this grant in strengthening the country's microeconomic stability and fiscal consolidation efforts.
Mr. O'Brien expressed enthusiasm about the dedication of Ghanaian children to their education, emphasizing the critical role of education for economic development and preparing future citizens and workers. The Minister of Education, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, accompanied him on this visit, leading a delegation from the ministry and the Ghana Education Service. Mr. Iddrisu reiterated the government's commitment to achieving the objectives of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) and urged pupils to remain disciplined, focused, and respectful toward their teachers.
Mr. Iddrisu also announced the expansion of the National Standardized Test (NST) intervention under GALOP, which has been funding the NST for all primary 4 learners since 2021. This initiative enables school managers to monitor results and measure proficiency levels of learners in English and Mathematics at various levels. He revealed plans to roll out the national standardized test comprehensively in the 2025/2026 academic year, assuring teachers of receiving requisite training and capacity building for this initiative.
Other interventions under GALOP include learning grants for schools and a differential learning approach, where teachers group learners based on their abilities. Mrs. Hannah Danso Apaw, Headteacher at the Presby Boys Primary School, advocated for training all basic schoolteachers on the differential learning approach to ensure that reassignment or transfer of teachers from beneficiary schools does not hinder pupils' learning progress.
