The Financing and Outcomes of Education in Ghana

In 1987, the Government of Ghana embarked on a set of educational reforms which culminated in the reduction of pre-tertiary education from 17 to 12 years and the introduction of measures to improve access, equity and quality at all levels of the educational system. The reforms focused primarily on basic education, which had undergone a decade of decline in quality, but higher levels of education were also given some attention. The reforms were launched at a time of a severe economic downturn – the economy had posted three successive years of negative growth – and a diminished capacity of government to finance development. In response, donors became increasingly involved in the provision of finance and technical assistance. As new modalities of aid began to be established, technical and financial assistance was provided to the government for both the preparation and implementation of the reforms. Over the course of the reforms, total donor assistance is estimated at between US$1.5 billion and US$2.0 billion. As the economy began to recover substantially from its malaise of the 1980s, the government’s education-sector expenditure, as a share of GDP, increased from 1.4per cent in 1987 to 5.7 per cent in 2006, albeit remaining lower than the 6.4 per cent recorded in 1976. This study documents a mixed record of implementation and outcomes of the reforms, with som