What We Do
Objective 1: Increase Access to Basic Education
All Children, Especially Girls, Need Education
EQUALL access programs bring primary school education to children in poor and deprived areas of northern Ghana, especially girls. Limited resources, teacher shortages, and other barriers hamper the ability of school children to learn and keep thousands out of school. Working in partnership with Government education agencies, EQUALL uses a variety of strategies to address these challenges.
Getting Every Child into School
The Complementary Education Program (CEP) provided out-of-school children in poor and deprived areas with a nine-month course to build the core literacy, numeracy and life skills needed to enter formal primary school.
Success
EQUALL’s scholarship program was adopted by the Ministry of Education who have allocated 2 percent of Ghana Education Trust funds to scholarships for needy girls to go to school.Complementary Education Scholarship Program (CESP)
The Complementary Education Scholarship Program (CESP) offered scholarships to female graduates of the Complementary Education Program to enable them to enter and complete formal primary school.
Every Classroom Needs a Teacher
A shortage of teachers in rural districts in Ghana deprives children of education. EQUALL recruited and trained local volunteers as Community Support Teachers who helped to fill teaching requirements in understaffed schools.
Teachers Need Training and Support
Rural areas in Ghana cannot attract trained teachers. One solution is to upgrade the qualifications of untrained teachers in underserved areas. EQUALL was a key partner in the development and implementation of the government’s distance teacher certification program – an open and distance learning program.
Special Education Needs
Schools should accommodate all children regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional or linguistic conditions. Many children with Special Education Needs cannot go to school because there is not enough teaching support or understanding of the child’s abilities. EQUALL supported the Special Education Division of the Ghana Education Service to introduce an inclusive education program into primary schools.
