Accra, Ghana//-The World Bank Global Director for Education, Dr Jaime Saavedra who is in Ghana for a two-day working visit has so far toured Mantse Tackie Primary School and Accra High Senior High School (SHS).
Dr Saavedra and his team were at the Mantse Tackie 1 and 2 Primary School on the Avenue Road in Accra which is one of the beneficiaries of the World Bank’s funded Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP) to assess the impact of the project on the lives of the pupils who are mostly children of low-income earners living around the Accra Central Business District.
Another objective of their tour of the school was to see how firsthand activities at the school level were implemented under the $150 million GALOP.
Speaking at a short ceremony, Madam Belinda Dede Sefakor Bulley, headteacher of Mantse Tackie 1 and 2 Primary School said under the GALOP, her school was given learning grant to buy text and exercise books, pencils, and other learning materials for the children.
She was quick to add that a laptop, tablets, cupboards among others were also provided to the school as part of the project.
According to her, the School Management Committee (SMC) under component 2 of the project was strengthened to become more functional and to contribute to strategies to improve learning in the school.
Madam Bulley added that the project had built the capacity of her colleague teachers through its in-service training courses to enable them to improve teaching and learning in the school.
Throwing more light on the ongoing GALOP, Madam Eunice Ackwerh who is the Senior Specialist of Education at the World Bank Ghana Office, said the project was approved on October 29, 2019, and became effective on April 16, 2020.
The project objective according to her is to improve the quality of education in low performing basic education schools and strengthen education sector equity and accountability in Ghana.
At the Accra High SHS where the World Bank team and officials of the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES) inspected the newly commissioned Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) Centre after a short durbar.
In her welcome address, the Headmistress of the School, Madam Lydia Anim-Nketia appealed to the World Bank to support the government to put up the STEAM centres across the country.
This she noted would help boost teaching and learning of STEAM and STEM courses in the West African country.
On her part, Madam Scherezad Latif, Practice Manager of Education at the World Bank responsible for nine countries in Ghana, said: “We are here to support the country with finances and technical support” to ensure that every child has access to quality education.
The Deputy Director-General of GES, Stephen Owusu said knowing the significance of STEM and STEAM education, the GES and the government are doing their best to provide the right environment and resources for students to study.
Earlier, the World Bank Global Director for Education, Dr Jaime Saavedra and his delegation paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum at his office where they discussed STEM and STEAM and issues related to quality education for boys and girls.
