Investing in early childhood education - A key to attaining Sustainable Development Goals in Ghana

This September has been an exciting month. Schools have reopened and the government launched its Free Senior High School (SHS) Policy. The implementation of the policy has brought hope of a brighter future for the country’s children and its commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for education by 2030.

The SDGs include a pledge that no one will be left behind. The pledge resonated strongly with President Akufo-Addo’s commitment to provide every Ghanaian child with access to senior high school as he stated that “knowledge and talent are not for the rich and privileged alone, and that free education widens the gates of opportunities to every child, especially those whose talents are arrested because of poverty”.

This is a bold and important move, and UNICEF is of the view that it must be coupled with quality of education for Ghana’s most disadvantaged children in the early years for us to reach the lofty 2030 SDG.

Early childhood

The early years of a child’s life is critical because it is a singular opportunity to positively shape a growing mind and a better future for that child and the society at large.

Children who are poorly nourished, ill-nurtured, or those who do not receive early stimulation and education, are likely to learn less in school and earn less at adulthood. It is not surprising, therefore, that for the first time, Early Childhood Development (ECD) has been included as a stand-alone target in global development goals; and an accompanying call for including pre-primary or kindergarten education to ensure that children are ready for primary school and beyond.

Globally, we have seen how getting children to access early learning opportunities has multiple benefits – for children as well as the education systems in which they learn.

For example, children with learning disabilities can be detected earlier and supported, the transition for children from primary to Junior High School (JHS) increases, as does a child’s chances of completing SHS.

The number of pupils having to repeat the year, or even drop out declines, and overall, girls and boys alike learn more when they are at school. The returns are particularly high for disadvantaged and marginalised children who stand to benefit the most from investments in pre-primary education. Most importantly, it helps to address inequalities before they take root. Hence, investing in early learning opportunities can only accelerate the promise of equity and quality enshrined in Ghana’s free SHS policy.

Ghana was an early leader in ECD and Kindergarten (KG) education in Africa. It developed its Early Childhood Care and Development policy in 2004, and in 2007 boldly included two years of KG education as part of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) policy. The latter makes Ghana a member of a select group of countries in the world with such a policy. The last decade has witnessed increased access and enrolment in Kindergarten (KG) in the country.

Despite increased access and high enrolment rates, challenges still remain at the basic education level. Right age of enrolment is a critical issue. In 2015, three out of five children entering KG One were actually between the ages of four and five years.

The number of trained teachers is also the lowest at the KG level in Ghana. Teachers struggle in classrooms to leverage home, school, and community resources to promote school readiness and support children to learn the appropriate foundational skills in the early years.

The Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA 2015) also highlights that over half of Primary Two pupils tested could not pronounce a word in the national language or English Language. Often, it is the pupils living in poverty and rural areas who are left behind.

Way forward

For us to fully achieve the SDG target for universal quality in early childhood development, care and pre-primary education, we need to build on the strong policy framework and enrolment gains made in Ghana. First, we need to ensure that pre-primary education and its links to nutrition, health, and child protection is identified as a national programming and public spending priority.

In particular, the National Education Sector Plan (2018-30) currently under preparation, needs to allocate sufficient resources – at least 10 per cent of its education budget for a start, to get every child in Ghana into a quality KG and at the right age.

Secondly, we need to strengthen our routine data collection and information management systems to better reflect the experiences of the most disadvantaged children for the successful achievement and monitoring of the SDGs. Thirdly, we need to promote partnership and collaborative action among all stakeholders – ranging from government, bilateral and multilateral development partners, national and international non-governmental organisations, private sector, community and local organisations and families; to reach young children with relevant services and support.

For every child in Ghana, we desire a fair chance to access education at the right age. As parents, communities, business leaders, governments, and development partners there is no greater investment we can make in a child’s future than investing early, investing equitably, and investing in quality of learning.

The writer is the Chief, Education, in UNICEF Ghana