Ministry of Education wins prestigious education award in United Arab Emirates

Ghana’s education reforms have received international recognition after one of its ongoing reform programmes “The Ghana Education Outcomes Project” (GEOP) was selected as the best in the Education Service Category by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Government during the 2024 GOVTECH Prize, a distinguished highlight of the World Government Summit.

 This prize, which is awarded to reputed institutions every year, seeks to recognise and honour excellence. These institutions are selected out of the pool of applicants by an independent fact-finding committee.

The 11th edition of the World Government Summit which was to prepare world governments for future challenges, spanned from February 12 to 14, and brought together more than 4,000 delegates, thought leaders from international organisations, representatives of international organisations, private leaders and policymakers from around the globe to promote international cooperation and adopt rapidly growing technologies to improve lives of societies.

During the three-day summit, more than 120 government delegations and 80 international organisations discussed sustainable economic growth, artificial intelligence, future governments, education, healthcare services, food security, and urban expansion initiatives. 

For its prize, the Ministry was presented with a plaque.

This prestigious accolade honours the outstanding success of the Ghana Education Outcomes Project (GEOP) in reintegrating 17,340 Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) learners into mainstream schools and enhancing learning gains through innovative interventions in the first year of the world’s largest education outcomes fund project.

The Education Ministry was selected from over 1000 other applicants worldwide in the education category this year. Ghana emerged victorious, showcasing the impactful work being carried out under the GEOP, an additional funding project under the Ghana Accountability Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP).

Present at the award ceremony in Dubai was a five-member delegation from the Education Ministry led by the outgoing Deputy Minister for Education in charge of TVET education, Madam Gifty Twum Ampofo, Hajia Nana Fatima High, the GEOP Coordinator, Madam Catherine A. Appiah Pinkrah, Ag. Executive Director, CEA, Emmanuel Kofi Aidoo, Technical Support, GEOP, and Ernest Akosah, Deputy Public Relations Officer, MOE  who received the award on behalf of the Hon. Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum.

This recognition reaffirms the commitment of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo, to fostering equitable and inclusive education, particularly by reintegrating children into mainstream education.

Appreciation

The Education Ministry could not have attained this feat without the instrumentality of institutions such as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for their funding, the World Bank for their technical assistance and project management, the Education Outcomes Fund (EOF) Team for their conceptualisation of the outcomes-based design, and our esteemed service providers — Ghana TransformED Partnership, School for Life Rising Education Outcomes Partnership, and Plan International, Ghana — for their innovative interventions.

The Ministry is also grateful to all other stakeholders who contributed in diverse ways towards the development of the nation’s education sector leading to this international recognition. Let us continue our journey towards a brighter, more inclusive future for all Ghanaian children.

Background

The Ministry of Education partnered key development allies to launch the world’s largest education outcomes fund project that uses an innovative financing programme called the Ghana Educational Outcome Project (GEOP). 

The goal of the GEOP is to provide educational support for 70,000 out-of-school children, helping them access complementary education and then transition into formal schools while also ensuring children currently in mainstream schools receive learning interventions to help improve their performance as well as help them stay in school.

It is worth noting that seventeen thousand, three hundred and forty 17,340 out-of-school children were taken through the programme and mainstreamed into formal schools in 2023.

This programme has worked so well that it won the GOVTECH PRIZE award in February 2024 at the World Government Summit held in Dubai, and was announced to the nation recently by the President during the SONA 2024.