The Ministry of Education is considering expanding numeracy-focused programmes across the country after recognising that mathematics has not received the same level of attention as literacy in basic education.

The Head of Unit in charge of Early Childhood Education and Principal Programmes Officer at the Ministry of Education, Isaac Atta Baah, said the ministry has over the years introduced several interventions to improve children's reading skills, but similar efforts in numeracy have been limited.

Speaking at the 2026 World Access Brainest National Abacus Competition in Accra, which promotes mathematics among children, Mr Atta Baah said the event had highlighted the need for stronger national interventions to improve pupils' numeracy skills.

He said he would submit a report on the competition to the Minister of Education and the ministry's management to explore ways of expanding the initiative across the country.

"Today's programme has actually opened my eyes and, for that matter, the eyes of the Ministry of Education," he said.

"We've realised over the years that we have put a lot of interventions in place to help children to read, but it looks as if we've given little or no regard to numeracy."

He added that the ministry would consider scaling up the programme to strengthen mathematics education nationwide.

"Looking at what is going on, I think I will share this report with the Honourable Minister and the management of the Ministry of Education to expand this programme so that we can also strengthen the numeracy level of children in this country," he said.

Mr Atta Baah explained that the proposal would first be discussed by the ministry's management before a decision is taken.

"I'm going to share a report with management for us to put in place a system that would help us to scale up this particular programme," he said.

"We'll discuss this at the management meeting, and I'm sure the Honourable Minister, who is a listening minister, would agree for us to scale up this programme."

Mr Atta Baah also raised concerns about the growing performance gap between boys and girls, saying girls dominated this year's competition.

He said that girls won about 90 per cent of the awards and attributed their progress partly to the many interventions aimed at promoting girls' education.

"One thing that I realised from this, and I think last year too, is that about 90 per cent of the girls were sweeping all the awards," he said.

He observed that while boys traditionally performed better in mathematics and science, the situation appears to be changing because of sustained investment in programmes that support girls.

"Across the country, we put in place a lot of interventions, and I think it is gradually uplifting the girls," he said.

However, he said that boys also need targeted support, saying many organisations focus mainly on empowering girls.

"We have a lot of NGOs in Ghana who are into girls' and adolescent girls' empowerment, but we don't have that for the boys," he said.

Mr Atta Baah expressed concern over the number of boys who drop out of school and take up commercial motorcycle riding at an early age.

"Most of the boys complete JHS and then start using okada. Sometimes they are not even 18 years," he said.

He said that education policies should ensure that both boys and girls are given equal opportunities to succeed.

"We should also start putting in place good interventions to push all of them so that they become a match for each other," he added.

Chief Executive Officer of Brainest EduCare Limited, Mrs Hilda Karroum, said the fifth edition of the World Access Brainest National Abacus Competition attracted more than 2,000 pupils from about 100 schools across Ghana.

She said the competition also drew online participation from students in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, reflecting its growing international appeal.

"Participants came from across the country and, in fact, international students from the UK, Canada and the US also participated online," she said.

"It's not just a national event. Very soon, it will be international. We'll go to other countries to hold this programme beyond Ghana."

She congratulated the winners while encouraging participants who did not receive awards to remain determined.

"Those who won, complacency should not set in. Those who did not win, go and come back stronger. But in all, everybody is a winner," she said.

Mrs Karroum also acknowledged the support of the Ghana Education Service, saying the agency has consistently backed the initiative.

Looking ahead, she said the organisers hope to expand the competition to reach more public schools so that children from every part of the country can benefit.

"We want to reach out to government schools so that every Ghanaian child deserves to be part of this programme," she added.