World Bank Sign $156m Agreement

Ghana and the World Bank have signed a financing agreement for $156 million to enhance access to secondary education in underserved districts of the country. t signed for Ghana while Yusupha Crookes, World Bank Country Director, signed on behalf of his institution.

The funding under the Ghana Secondary School Education Improvement Project (SEIP) will help improve quality in low-performing Senior High Schools (SHSs) to increase gender and geographical equity and improve quality in those schools.

The project is expected to benefit about 30,000 new students in secondary, 150,000 students in low performing schools, 2,000 SHS teachers, head teachers and other education officials.

Under the project, 23 new SHSs are expected to be constructed in selected districts to enroll 15,000 students, improve 50 existing senior high schools through expansion and rehabilitation of existing structures and facilities, and provide scholarships to 10,400 students from low-income families, especially girls.

Mr Crookes said the project would help address problems of equity and capacity and that it was well grounded on what had worked elsewhere.

He said the project would open up access to over 10,000 vulnerable students and support approximately 125 existing SHSs. Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Minister of Education said the project sought to improve quality of selected lowperforming senior high schools. The Minister said the ultimate objective of building those new schools was to create new space for those demanding seats in SHSs and to fill those spaces with new students coming from previously underserved communities.

She said the project would improve education in selected low-performing SHSs to make them attractive and strengthen school management, leadership and expansion of ICT in 125 selected low-performing schools.

Cassiel Ato Forson, Deputy Minister of Finance, said the amount was a concessional credit and the terms were in accordance with the World Bank's new middle income standard of five years grace period, 20 years repayment period and interest rate of 1.25 per cent per annum.

He gave the assurance that procurement under the facility would be done through competitive and transparent processes in line with the procurement laws and the World Bank's procurement policies so as to ensure value for money.