7. Examples of Successful Quality Improvement Initiatives in Ghana
There have been a number of initiatives in Ghana aimed at ensuring quality in the
country’s educational provision:
The Quality Improvement in Primary Schools (QUIPS) Programme
The USAID QUIPS programme, which was initiated in 1997, works in collaboration with
MOE, GES, District official’s and community representatives, to increase the
effectiveness of the primary education system. The programme supports interventions at
three levels, that is, school, community, and district. At the school level, training is
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provided to teachers, School Heads,
Circuit Supervisors and other district officials. At
the community level, awareness and mobilization are supported for strengthening school
management committees (SMC) and PTAs. Improving the management capacity at the
district level includes planning, budgeting and financial administration. This last
intervention also provides grants for the District Education office.
Each year approximately 75 new schools and communities are selected to participate in
the USAID QUIPS programme. Each group receives two years of interventions similar
to those described above. This year 88 partnership schools were selected from 22
districts. To date, QUIPS has provided interventions in over 400 partnership schools and
communities in all regions and 96 districts, reaching a total of about 112,000 primary
students. A mid-term assessment of the QUIPS programme indicates that the programme
is impacting positively on teaching and learning outcomes in primary schools throughout
the country. Childscope is a UNICEF sponsored programme, which is helping to improve
children’s reading, writing and numeracy skill in primary schools.
Performance Monitoring Test (PMT) and School Performance Appraisal and
Meetings (SPAM)
The PMT and SPAM, which were introduced in 1998, have proved to be effective tools
in monitoring, teaching and learning outcomes in basic schools. The PMT is a test in
English and Mathematics administered to 25% - 50% of pupils in public schools. The
results are discussed at School Performance Appraisal Meetings (SPAM) where parents
have the opportunity to analyze the performance of their children and map out strategies
for improving their performance and school achieving set targets. Record suggests that
the initiative has impacted positively on quality teaching and learning in schools.
