GES is working to harmonise NGO activities in education

The Ghana Education Service is designing a framework to coordinate and harmonise the operations of non-governmental organizations in the education sector to enable them to assess their impact and efficiency.

Mr Edward Opoku Manu, Human Resource Manager at the Ghana Education Service (GES) Greater Accra Regional Office said the framework will also help synchronise the activities of the NGOs, CSOs and Faith-based organizations operating in the schools.

The Greater Accra GES regional office organized a day’s sensitization programme for selected NGOs and CSOs to discuss the framework and also solicit input from the participants.

Reverend Patrick Banafo, the Greater Accra School Health and Education Programme (SHEP) coordinator who is also coordinating the NGOs working in the educational sector in Greater Accra, in a presentation, said there were about 700 NGOs and CSOs operating in the educational sector across the country, however, there is inadequate data to reflect their contribution.

“This has also made it difficult to assess the number of resources going into the education sector in Ghana,” he said.

Rev. Banafo said the GES framework or guidelines for NGOs, CSOs and Faith based organizations operating in the sector will help improve the work being done in the educational sector.

The framework will also help minimize duplication of activities and ensure that the work is aligned and harmonised with public sector strategy and materials and maintain a database on their operations.

He commended the NGOs and the private sector organizations working in the educational sector, saying, “Government cannot do it alone”

NGOs, CSOs and Faith based organizations have increasingly become key stakeholders in the development of the educational sector across the globe, Rev. Banafo said calling for greater cooperation and collaboration to enhance their work and ensure the needed impact.