The Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) in partnership with the Coalition against Privatisation and Commercialisation of Education (CAPCOE) with the support of OXFAM International has implemented the Education Spike Project (EduSpike).

The initiative is aimed at promoting investment in public education to improve quality public education as commercialisation impacts access, equity, and standards in pre-tertiary education.

The facilitators of the programme observed that one of the key drivers of privatisation of education in Ghana is the low quality of public basic education due to inadequate resourcing of basic education, especially along rural-urban lines.

Thus, the EduSpike Campaign will advocate for and participate in actions to remedy the challenge.

As part of the EduSpike Campaign, Eduwatch will gather evidence on the exclusion of pupils, especially girls, from basic education due to the absence of public schools in rural and suburban communities.

This, according to the facilitators, is necessary to effectively engage policy decision-makers and stakeholders in public pre-tertiary education on the need for increased government investment to enhance quality and supply in the sector.

Citing some gaps in the education sector, Convener of CAPCOE, Richard Kwashie Kovey recommended that government must spike up the quality of public basic education through general improvement in its investments.

He noted that cheaper technologies in building schools to improve spending efficiency in the education infrastructure space should be explored.

Also, providing trained teachers in all rural classrooms and strengthening supervision will also revamp the sector.

“Providing desks, teaching, and learning materials in all public basic schools, especially those in rural communities.

“Exploring the absorption of collapsed private schools into the public stream to enhance access and re-enrolment of students struggling to re-enter school due to their school’s collapse because of the COVID-19 closure,” he listed.