By
Albert Futukpor, GNA
Tamale, Sept. 26, GNA – The Ministry of
Education (MoE) has held a day’s validation and dissemination workshop on the
final draft revised Complementary Basic Education (CBE) Policy to enrich the
document with inputs to ensure its smooth implementation.
The overarching objective of the CBE Policy is
to provide all out-of-school children aged eight to 16 years with access to an
accelerated numeracy and literacy programme in their mother tongues targeted to
their needs, and to enable them to acquire the basic skills required for
admission to stay and complete formal basic education.
In this revised edition of the policy, which
has been in existence since 2013, the MoE through the Alternative Education
Agency will continue to work with non-state actors under arranged mechanisms to
support the delivery of CBE programme to ensure that no child is left behind
and every child is afforded the opportunity to learn.
Mr Ernest Wesley-Otoo, Head of Planning and
Development Partners Coordination Unit of MoE, who made a presentation on the
final draft revised CBE Policy during the workshop in Tamale on Tuesday, said
under the policy, government and its partners had committed to fund the CBE
programme to ensure free education for all.
The workshop was attended by representatives
from Development Partners, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Non-Governmental
Organisations (NGOs) including School for Life (SfL), Northern Network for
Education Development, Plan International Ghana amongst others involved in the
delivery of the CBE programme.
Mr Wesley-Otoo said according to the policy,
government had committed to allocate annually a budget equivalent of one per
cent of basic education budget towards the delivery of the CBE programme whiles
harnessing the support of development partners and NGOs.
He appealed to Development Partners, CSOs, and
NGOs to continue to work together and support the government to ensure success
of the policy.
Alhaji Suleman Osman Saaka, Programme Manager
of SfL, lauded the policy calling on stakeholders to play their roles to ensure
that out-of-school in the communities had access to formal education.
Dr Leslie Casely-Hayford, Principal
Development Consultant at Associates for Change, also lauded the policy saying
it would go a long way to immensely tackle the issue of out-of-school children
in the country.
Other participants expressed need for
government to ensure adequate education infrastructure in the communities for
out-of-school children who benefited from CBE programme to get space to enrol
in formal schools.
GNA