We'll complement govt efforts in education - Opportunity International CEO affirms

An international non-profit organisation,  has said it will continue to support low-fee private basic schools across Ghana to complement the government's efforts in the education sector.

It stated that Africa's rapid population growth has outpaced many governments' capacity to provide adequate public education, hence the need for businesses and organisations to lend support.

The global Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Atul Tandon, said by enabling private-sector participation, he said, Opportunity International was helping to complement public education systems in Ghana.

Mr Tandon said this in an interview with journalists during the visit of the Opportunity International global board to the Evergreen Royal Academy at Tema, Manhean, in the Greater Accra Region, last Thursday.

The school, an early beneficiary of the organisation's education finance programme, served as a case study for the board during their biannual meeting in Ghana.

Investment

Mr Tandon said that since its inception in 2004, Opportunity International has invested more than $2 billion in financing for low-fee private schools worldwide, directly impacting more than 77,000 schools and reaching over 20 million children.

In Ghana alone, he said, the programme has extended support to 7,000 schools.

This support, he added, was facilitated through partnerships with local financial institutions, including 11 banks in Ghana, which provided affordable loans to school proprietors to expand infrastructure.

Beyond financial aid, Mr Tandon said the organisation also focused on sustainability by training school leaders and teachers.

He said the Opportunity International was now expanding its programme to include vocational training to equip students with practical skills alongside literacy and numeracy.

Reflecting on the visit, Mr Tandon underscored Ghana’s central role in the initiative’s history.

“I’m very, very proud to be here personally, because this is where education started — our programme started,” he said.

“We are very thankful for Ghana … and I can tell you 30 years from now we’ll still be here.”

AI driven

The Head of Education Finance at the Opportunity International, Andrew McCusker, for his part, said a new teacher mentor professional development programme has also been introduced under the initiative to help Ghanaian teachers improve lesson planning and students' learning outcomes.

"Through the teacher assistant app, we are ensuring that every teacher who is part of our programme is now giving learners the government-approved curriculum," he said.

Low fees

The founder and Director of the school, Rev. Vincent Ntiamoah Yeboah, said the school, which started with four children in 2015, now has a total population of 630 students.