Challenge
The Complementary Basic Education (CBE) programme in Ghana, supported by DFID and USAID, is designed to ensure that children aged 8-14 years who have never been to school, or who have dropped out of school, have access to and are benefiting from basic education. It further aims to strengthen the policy environment and the capacity of the government to sustain the approach beyond the programme funding term, thus enabling Ghana to make progress towards achieving universal primary enrolment.
Approach
In the developing world, Kantar Public applies deep expertise in educational policy to work with clients to address the lack of access to quality education that persists, preventing millions of people from escaping the cycle of poverty.
In Ghana, Kantar Public conducted a wide-ranging evaluation of the five-year CBE programme, encompassing interviews ranging from community level stakeholders to implementing partners, government Ministries and international donors.
Insight
The evaluation showed that although the CBE programme had largely met its targets on impact, outcome, and output, the ability of the national government to sustain the programme beyond funding term was in doubt.
The analysis also highlighted areas where the formal education system could be strengthened to address issues of mother-tongue instruction and barriers to accessing education.
Impact
The work has informed future education planning for children in Ghana and has generated powerful evidence to underline the challenge of sustainability in embedding educational programmes in the development sector.
