BASIC EDUCATION IN GHANA IN THE POST-REFORM PERIOD

By

Abena D. Oduro

Centre for Policy Analysis

Accra

November, 2000

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ABSTRACT

This paper reviews the first stage of the skill acquisition process in Ghana, i.e. basic education. Basic education provides the essential building blocks to continue to higher levels of education. For those who do not continue to higher education it provides the foundation upon which work-related skills are developed.

Two criteria are used in this paper to assess the performance of the basic education sub-sector. The first is progress that has been made in expanding access to basic education. This criterion on its own is not sufficient to pronounce a verdict on the success or otherwise of an education programme in improving upon the stock of a country’s human capital. Focus on this criterion alone assumes that as the basic education system expands standards are automatically maintained. However a rapid expansion of education in terms of numbers enrolled can be at the expense of the quality of education. The second criterion the study uses to assess performance of the basic education sector is the extent to which the sector has succeeded in equipping its graduates with the relevant skills to enter the world of work or else to continue to higher levels of education.

Although there has been an increase in the absolute numbers enrolled at the basic education level there has been no significant increase in gross enrolment rates. Gender gaps in enrolment still exist.

The quality of education in the public school system as measured by the performance of pupils in the Criterion Referenced Tests organised by the Ministry of Education is low. The poor test results raise questions about efficiency in the use of the sector’s resources.

A reduction in the private cost of education will encourage an increase in enrolment rates. In addition an improvement in the quality of education is critical to an improvement in enrolment rates.

Additional financial resources are but one of the many needs of the basic education sector in Ghana. A review of the curriculum, teaching methods and practices, teacher supervision and incentives for teachers is required in order to achieve an efficient use of the sector’s financial resources. The lack of a positive link between government education spending and performance of the sector shows quite clearly that pumping resources into the sector is not sufficient to solve the problems the sector faces. What is critical is how the resources going into the sector are managed, monitored and utilised.

Improving upon the quality of education requires in addition an effective monitoring system. The BECE provides an excellent opportunity to monitor the output of the basic education system. However the choice of the Stanine system for marking has made it impossible to utilise the examination for this purpose. It is recommended that the marking system of the BECE be reviewed so that the examination can be used for monitoring purposes.

BASIC EDUCATION IN GHANA IN THE POST-REFORM PERIOD

1. Introduction

"…we must look to industry and agriculture to provide an increased standard of living, but these two sectors of the economy are dependent on an adequate supply of suitably educated and trained manpower... Economic growth does not consist merely in the expansion of aggregate production, it consists in the expansion of output per head and therefore it necessarily entails an increase in productivity per head. Without such an increase in productivity the population may grow and with it the national income, but the level of prosperity cannot increase. Rising productivity derives from two sources. On the one hand it is influenced by the kinds of capital …with which the population is supplied. On the other hand it depends upon the skill with which labour and management use these capital assets. Contemporary experience suggests that the latter is every bit as important as the former in determining the level of economic development in a country’.

 

This quotation is not taken from Ghana’s Vision 2020 document published in the early 1990s or from policy documents of present day middle-income countries whose performance Ghana wishes to emulate. It is taken from the first paragraph of the chapter on education of the Seven-Year Development Plan for Ghana for the period 1963/64-1969/70. For the architects of the plan, human capital formation was recognised as critical to the growth and development process. The sentiments expressed in the paragraph are even more pertinent to Ghana today.

Knowledge and technology are increasingly becoming the basis of competitive advantage in the present world economy. The quality of a country’s stock of human capital influences the extent to which knowledge and technology can be utilised and created to enhance productivity and increase the well-being of citizens. Lall (1992) defines human capital as "not just the skills generated by formal education and training, but also those created by on-the-job training and the experience of technological activity and the legacy of inherited skills, attitudes and abilities…" (p. 170). A not insignificant proportion of the knowledge base and skills of the work force in Ghana is tradition bound. If the competitiveness of Ghana in the world economy is to improve, the knowledge base, techniques of production and skills of the work force must be broadened beyond the confines of inherited skills, attitudes and abilities. Formal education is an important part of the skill acquisition process and development of the stock of human capital. It contributes to the process of moulding attitudinal skills and developing technical skills. Education increases the ability to understand and critique new ideas. It facilitates the adoption and/or modification of technology. For example in agriculture if modern farming practices are to be adopted and effectively implemented, farmers must be able to read instructions on how to use the new inputs.

Empirical studies using data from several countries have been conducted to investigate the determinants of growth and have included a proxy for human capital. The results are inconclusive. Ojo and Oshikoya (1995) conducted a study on determinants of long-term growth using a panel data set of 17 African countries. The measures of human capital used in the study were the primary and secondary enrolment rates, literacy rates and average years of education. The primary and secondary school enrolment rates were not significant explanatory variables in the growth equation, whereas the literacy rate and average years of education variables were. A problem with these proxies of human capital is that they are an imprecise measure of skill acquisition and provide no indication whether the graduates of the educational institutions possess the skills required by the productive sectors of the economy. In addition the measures do not capture variations in the quality of education across countries and over time. There is less ambiguity when individual or household level data is used. Data from the third household survey conducted in Ghana in 1991/92 shows that the incidence of poverty amongst households declines the more educated is the household head (Figure 1). This suggests that education can be the route out of poverty. Education provides opportunities for involvement in activities with high returns. In addition, evidence from Ghana and other developing countries shows the children of educated mothers are more likely to have

Figure 1.

Note: The poverty rate is the proportion of households that fall below the poverty line. The poverty line is defined as two thirds of the mean real household consumption expenditure per capita in 1987.

Source: Calculated from the third Household Survey, 1991/92

 

 

better levels of nutrition than children of uneducated mothers (Glewwe, 1999). Infant mortality rates amongst educated mothers is lower (Strauss and Duncan, 1996). Education therefore confers on women household heads the knowledge to manage household resources efficiently.

This paper is the first in a series that will review the skill acquisition process in Ghana. Basic education provides the essential building blocks to continue to higher levels of education. For those who do not continue to higher education it provides the foundation upon which work-related skills are developed. Thus the review of the skill acquisition process in Ghana will understandably begin by an assessment of the performance of the basic education sector since the start of the education sector reforms in 1987.

Two criteria will be used to assess the performance of the basic education sub-sector. The first is progress that has been made in expanding access to basic education. This criterion on its own is not sufficient to pronounce a verdict on the success or otherwise of an education programme in improving upon the stock of a country’s human capital. Focus on this criterion alone assumes that the basic education system is able to maintain standards as the numbers enrolled increases. However a rapid expansion of education in terms of numbers of enrolled can be at the expense of the quality of education. The second criterion that this study will use to assess performance of the basic education sector is therefore the extent to which the sector has succeeded in equipping its graduates with the relevant skills to enter the world of work or else to continue to higher levels of education.

A comparative approach will be adopted by comparing trends in education indicators with what pertains in other African countries and with what pertained three decades ago in some Asian economies. The current objective of economic policy is for to Ghana attain middle-income country status by the year 2020. The Asian countries that have made the transition from low to middle income country status have been chosen as role models. It is the consensus of observers of the transition process in these economies that accumulation of human capital was an important part of the process. What can be learnt from the experiences of these countries?

The next section will present a brief discussion of developments in basic education prior to 1987. The education reforms of 1987 and subsequent developments in basic education policy will be the subject of sections 3 and 4. Section 5 will examine the outcomes and section 6 concludes the paper.

 

2. The Education Sector Prior to the 1987 Reforms

The average number of years of formal schooling of Ghanaians has improved in the period since independence. Information obtained from the national household survey conducted in 1991/92 finds that whilst the average years of schooling of persons aged over 64 was about 1.2 years, the average for those aged between 44 and 53 years was 3.7 years. It rose to 6.7 years for persons aged between 25 and 33 years (Table 1). The increase in average years of education from older to younger generations occurs for both men and women even though women still lag behind men (Table 1). The education policies, trends in the economy and changes in circumstances of households can explain the developments that have occurred over the last five or so decades.

Table 1 Average Years of Education attained by Age Cohorts (1991/92)

Source: Estimated from Third Household Survey, 1991/92.

Tuition-free primary and middle school education was introduced in 1952. The Education Act of 1961 declared primary education to be compulsory and a parent not sending a child to school was liable to a fine. The Act also made provision for the establishment of private educational institutions. The Act delineated the responsibilities of central and local governments regarding the financing of education. Central government was to be responsible for teachers’ salaries. The building, equipment and maintenance of all public primary and middle schools were made the responsibility of the local authorities. In 1963 the school textbooks scheme was introduced. Pupils were required to pay a token fee.

The effect of the Education Act on enrolment was dramatic. Enrolment in public primary and secondary schools more than doubled between 1960/61 and 1964/65 (Table 2). This period saw the fastest increase in school enrolment in the country’s post-independence history. Children long past the normal school entry age of 6 entered primary school in response to the policy of tuition free primary education and children who had dropped out of school were able to re-enter at the point where they had left. The numbers enrolled in primary 1 more than doubled between 1960/61 and 1961/62 (Table 2). Gains were made in the enrolment of girls. There was a rapid increase in the proportion of girls in primary school between 1960/61 and 1964/65. The proportion of girls in middle and secondary school also increased but the rise was not as rapid as in primary school (Table 2).

The rapid expansion in enrolment rates was not maintained and a decline in actual numbers enrolled in primary school began in the 1965/66 academic year until 1972/73 when they began to rise again (Table 2). Enrolments in primary 1 declined in 1964. The decline in enrolment rates has been attributed to the reversal to normal trends after the surge in enrolments when the policy of tuition free primary education was introduced. The introduction of textbook fees and growing unemployment amongst middle school leavers may also explain the drop in enrolment rates during this period. The gross enrolment rate (GER) in 1970 was estimated at 62% at the primary school level. The GER continued to increase during the 1970s so that by 1980 it stood at 80%.

There was a rapid increase in the establishment of school facilities to absorb the increase in enrolments. The number of public primary schools increased from 3514 in 1960/61 to 6884 in 1962/63 and to 8144 in 1965/66 (Ministry of Education 1968). Many of these, however, were makeshift. In the seven-year plan special emphasis was placed on the expansion of secondary and technical schools to provide the necessary manpower to supply the needs of a modern economy.

Table 2 Enrolment in Public Institutions in the 1960s

Source: Ministry of Education

Although there was an increase in the numbers enrolled in school and in the gross enrolment rate there was a concern about the quality of the output of the education sector. A UNESCO report on education in Ghana published in 1970 had this to say: "Generally Ghana’s education services are not producing the kinds of quality manpower needed by the economy. The educational system is not providing an adequate base in English and Mathematics and offers little exposure to practical work " (UNESCO, 1970 p. 21). It went on to state that "…the first problem is the poor quality of basic education in primary and middle schools, especially in the main educational language, English, …" (UNESCO 1970p. 34). The rapid expansion of enrolment in a very short period of time was thus, to some extent, at the expense of the quality of education.

Quality was compromised because there was inadequate supply of critical inputs to support the increase in enrolments. The supply of trained teachers could not keep up with the expansion in enrolments and schools. To meet the demand for teachers, untrained teachers were added to the staff. In 1962 trained teachers made up 52% of the teaching staff in primary schools and middle schools. By 1966/67 they are estimated to have declined to 28% of the teaching staff in primary schools (Ministry of Education 1968). There was an increase in the supply of trained teachers in primary schools thereafter so that in 1969/70 their share had risen to 49%. A similar problem existed in the secondary school system although it was not as severe as at the primary level. There was a small drop in the share of graduate teachers in the secondary schools from 57% of the teaching staff in 1961/62 to 54.3% in 1969/70.

To get round the constraint of insufficient physical infrastructure to accommodate the rising enrolments, a two-shift system was introduced. A shortcoming of this system is that it can effectively place an upper limit on the number of contact hours in a day between pupil and teacher. The subsidised textbook scheme ran into financial difficulties as the number of pupils increased. To deal with the problem of financing the scheme it was decided in 1968 to limit the number of titles supplied to English Readers and Mathematics.

The experience of the rapid expansion in education enrolments in the 1960s provided a lesson for future policy makers. It was that an increase in the opportunity to attend school did not automatically translate into an equal opportunity to access the same quality or standards across the country and over time. Prior to the implementation of a policy of expansion in education it must be ensured that the necessary inputs are available to guarantee that quality will not be compromised in the process.

The education system introduced during the colonial period required that students spent at least 8-10 years before they could enter secondary school. In the Seven-Year Development Plan concerns were expressed about the length of time it took to complete secondary school. To address this issue it was proposed that children be selected to secondary school after six years of primary education. The middle school system was to be replaced by continuous schools that would offer courses of a vocational nature. Some continuous schools were established but no significant changes were made to the primary and middle school system.

A new educational system was proposed in the Five-Year Development Plan for the period 1975/76-1979/80. It aimed at reducing by four years the length of time taken by the average child from elementary school to the end of secondary school. It also aimed at introducing a curriculum with a large practical content aimed at equipping the individual with skills relevant to the needs of the country. The new education system was to be implemented in September of 1974. In this new system the middle school was to be phased out by 1982-83 academic year and replaced by the Junior Secondary School (See Appendix 1 for details of the education system that was proposed). Implementation of the new education system, however, did not move beyond the phase of pilot schemes.

The education sector entered a crisis phase in the 1980s with the GER declining to about 70% in 1986. The sector suffered from a decline in the supply of teachers as teachers left the sector and country to find more remunerative employment elsewhere. There were shortfalls in the supply of learning and teaching materials and a failure to maintain the physical infrastructure in schools. Real per capita incomes had been falling in the late 1970s and early 1980s and as households faced hardship a response was to withdraw children from school. The education reforms of 1987 were introduced within the context of the crisis in the sector.

3. The Education Reforms

The public sector is the main provider of education at the primary and tertiary level. At the secondary level, although most of the senior secondary schools are public schools, the vocational schools sub-sector is dominated by the private sector.

The structure of the education system before the reforms was such that to complete pre-university education could take between 13 and 15 years. This variation in the number of minimum years was because there was essentially a three -track system in place. Children who managed to complete primary schooling could take the middle school track and end their education after completing four years of middle school. It was possible to skip middle school and enter secondary school after sitting the common entrance examination in primary 6. The alternative was to do one or two years at middle school before sitting for the entrance examination to secondary school. The reforms replaced the three-track system with a one-track system. All children are expected to go through a minimum of nine years of education, i.e. six years of primary and three years of junior secondary education. They can either enter the world of work or continue to the secondary level (See Figure 2).

Figure 2. Structure of the Education System.

Pre-School

Primary

Junior Secondary

Senior Secondary Technical /Vocational

University Training Institutes Specialised Institutes Polytechnics

Ghana presently has a 6-3-3-4 education system. Pre-school is not compulsory. Children are expected to enter the first year of primary school at age 6. The first nine years that make up basic education consists of primary education of 6 years and 3 years of junior secondary school. Basic education is supposed to be compulsory for all children of the relevant age group. Unfortunately as this study will show universal primary education has still to be achieved in Ghana. An official selection process occurs at the end of the ninth year of basic education when all pupils take the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Individuals who want to continue their formal education have the option of attending senior secondary schools, technical schools or vocational schools (Figure 2).

The reforms began in 1987 with the intake of the first set of Junior Secondary School entrants. The senior secondary school system began in 1990 and the first examination was taken in 1993. The middle school system was phased out in 1989 when the last set took the middle school leaving certificate. The ‘O’ and ‘A’ level systems were phased out in 1994 and 1996 respectively.

Prior to the reforms some teacher training took place at the secondary level. Graduates from the middle schools were able to enter teacher training colleges and obtain a Certificate A. Specialist courses were available at the post-secondary level for secondary school graduates. The technical institutes also had placements for middle school certificate holders. The secondary school system has changed with the reforms. It has two components. The first is the senior secondary schools that provide 3 years of general academic education after which an external examination is taken. Passing this examination with the necessary grades qualifies entry into the tertiary level institutions. The second component is made up of the vocational and technical schools. Graduates of the technical and vocational institutions usually terminate their formal education at this level and enter the world of work or can continue at the polytechnics.

The tertiary level education comprises of the training colleges, polytechnics, universities and specialised institutes of journalism and of professional studies. The 1991 White Paper on tertiary reforms had as one of its objectives the establishment of an integrated tertiary education system comprising all post-secondary pre-service training institutions under the general supervision, direction and control of the Ministry of Education. This has not happened. The National Council for Tertiary Education was established in 1993 to be responsible for the tertiary level education. The polytechnics were upgraded to tertiary status in 1992. They still however continue to provide non-tertiary programmes. The Regional Colleges of Applied Arts, Sciences and Technology (RECAAST) proposed in the White Paper have not been established. The teacher training, nursing training and agricultural colleges were to be amalgamated under these colleges.

Of those children that do attend school, many do not proceed beyond basic education. The apprenticeship training system that is provided at the work place is an important source of skill acquisition. Many of the "masters" have obtained limited training if any from the formal education system and have limited links with technical institutions and polytechnics. The masters may have in-depth knowledge of traditional techniques and technologies but may be at a disadvantage when it comes to knowledge about modern techniques of production, management and organisation. An important issue for Ghana during this period of rapid technological change in the world economy is how technology and skills can be transferred from the rest of the world to the Ghanaian workforce. The informal sector as it is presently organised has tenuous links with the international sources of technology. Enterprises in the sector do not tend to be involved in exporting and there is hardly any sub-contracting between foreign enterprise and local ones. An alternative institutional framework will have to be developed to facilitate the transfer of technology and skills that is needed. Formal technical and vocational education may have to be expanded to increase the supply of masters schooled in modern technologies to the informal sector.

The education reforms begun in 1987 had the following objectives:

• To expand and make access more equitable at all levels of education. There were significant differences in educational attainment measured by years of education on the basis of gender and location. Access to senior secondary school (SSS) was to be increased by ensuring that 50% of the JSS leavers entered SSS. Twenty-five percent of SSS graduates were to be absorbed by the tertiary institutions.
• To change the structure of the school system. The reforms aimed at reducing the number of years of pre-tertiary education. It was expected that this would reduce cost to both individuals and the state.
• To improve pedagogic efficiency and effectiveness. The education system tended to emphasise rote recall. It was necessary to inculcate a better understanding of the subject matter and improve upon practical and analytical skills.
• To make education more relevant. There was the concern that the curriculum was not relevant to the needs of the Ghanaian economy. It was considered that there was a need to have more "practical" subjects, for example agriculture.
• To ensure financial sustainability of the sector through the containment of costs and sharing of such costs with users. It had become increasingly difficult for central government to provide the necessary funding for education.
• To enhance sector management and budgeting procedures. The Education Ministry was constrained by limited planning capacity. Budget uncertainties made planning difficult and monitoring was inadequate.

4. Reforms at the Primary and JSS level

The reforms in primary education have been undertaken with substantial external donor support. The World Bank has extended four credits to support reform in the primary sector. USAID has provided funding to support reforms in the sector under its Primary Education Programme and its contribution to the fCUBE programme. Other donors to the fCUBE programme are DFID of the UK, JICA of Japan and Kfw and GTZ of Germany.

Some specific objectives for the primary level were:

• The gross intake rate of 6 year olds should increase to 98% by the year 2000
• Enrolments and intakes at the primary level to increase by 5% per annum
• Gross enrolment rate should exceed 90% by the year 2000
• Output from the teacher training colleges is to rise to 8000 after 1995

4.1. Actions Taken

The primary school curriculum was changed and Ghanaian languages and agriculture were made compulsory. Nine compulsory subjects were initially taken at the primary level. These were Mathematics, English, General Science, Agriculture, Social Studies, Cultural Studies, Ghanaian Languages, Life Skills and Physical Education.

In 1997 the primary school curriculum was reviewed and the number of subjects taken reduced. At the lower primary level the pupils studied English Language, Ghanaian Language and Culture, Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Religious and Moral Education and Physical Activities. Integrated Science, comprising of General Science and Agriculture Science is introduced at the Upper Primary level. The syllabus was changed because the original number of subjects (9) was considered to be too many for pupils in Primary 1-3. There was not enough time for the development of the most important skills at that level, i.e. reading, writing and numeracy.

At the JSS level Integrated Science is broken into its two components and taught separately. In addition, Pre-Vocational Skills and Pre-Technical skills are added to the subjects for external examination. Life Skills, Music and Dance and Physical Activities are also part of the JSS curriculum. These subjects though are not examined externally.

The school year was extended from 36 to 40 weeks and the school day extended from four to five hours. This was because of concern that there were not enough contact hours between teachers and students. On average the official instructional time in Ghanaian schools was lower than the average for other African countries. The lengthening of the official instructional time was also considered necessary because of the cut down in the length of time for the pre-university education.

Untrained teachers with the middle school leaving certificate were phased out. They were either to be retrained or replaced with trained teachers. The objective was that by 1995 there would be no untrained teachers and all teachers would have received pre-service training. After 1988 the teacher training colleges no longer took candidates with middle school leaving certificates. The percentage of trained teachers has increased in both the primary and Junior Secondary Schools. However the target of having only trained teachers has not been achieved (Table 3 and 4). Regional differences exist. The Northern region stands out as having the lowest proportion of trained teachers in primary schools. At the start of the reforms the region with the highest proportion of trained primary school teachers was the Greater Accra region. Expansion in the number of teachers in the region appears to have occurred through the employment of untrained teachers. This is in contrast to the trends in the other regions.

Table 3 Percentage of Trained Teachers in Primary (Public and Private) Schools

Source: Ministry of Education

Table 4 Percentage of Trained Teachers at Public and Private Junior Secondary School

Source: Ministry of Education

A programme of upgrading and improving the teacher training colleges has been pursued to provide teachers with the required skills for the primary and JSS levels. In-service training courses were run for existing educational personnel. Teachers were provided with syllabi, teacher’s guide and basic stationary.

To increase enrolments, school pavilions were constructed. Many of the schools particularly in the rural areas had very little in the way of infrastructure and children were exposed to the elements of the weather. There has been a 28% increase in the number of public primary schools in the period 1986/87 – 1996/97. The growth in private primary schools has been much more phenomenal (Table 5). From 1.8% of the total number of schools in 1986/87, it is estimated that private schools made up 11% of the total in 1998/99. The regional distribution of private schools is quite uneven. The Greater Accra, Ashanti and Central regions stand out as having the largest proportion of private schools, i.e. 32.4%, 22% and 9.6% respectively in 1998/99.

Table 5 Number of Primary Schools

Source: Ministry of Education

Table 6 Number of Junior Secondary Schools

Source: Ministry of Education

About 40% of the primary schools do not have junior secondary schools attached to them. The ratio of Junior Secondary Schools to primary schools in 1996/97 is estimated at 0.45. Indeed the information on the number of primary schools provides no information regarding whether the school is complete in terms of providing all the primary classes. The regions with the lowest ratio of primary to Junior Secondary Schools in 1996/97 were the Northern and Upper West regions. Some communities may not have junior secondary schools attached to the primary schools because they do not have the resources to construct one. Second, if the primary school is not complete it is unlikely to have a JSS attached to it. A third possible reason may be the attempt to improve efficiency in the use of resources. Thus in sparsely populated locations a JSS may be established to serve the primary schools in the area. Even though this may seem to be an efficient use of resources it may not generate the expected outcomes in terms of enrolments if children have to walk long distances to get to school.

Textbook user fees were applied to all pupils in primary 3 and above. In 1995 the policy was changed and textbooks were provided free in the public primary schools. The textbook user fee only applies to the JSS.

Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education. Currently reforms in the primary sector are being implemented under the umbrella of the Basic Education Sector Improvement Programme (popularly known as fCUBE). The basic education programme aims at providing all children with the ability to pursue further education or acquire skills for the world of work. Under this programme the Government of Ghana is committed to providing free, quality education at the basic level to all children of school going age by the year 2005. The components of education expenses that are to be provided free under this scheme are tuition, textbooks, equipment and tools. Tuition is to be provided free to all in the public basic education system. Textbooks are to be provided free at the primary level to both public and private schools. At the JSS level pupils are expected to pay a textbook user fee that should not be more than 10% of the average total cost of the textbook supplied per pupil. Equipment is to be provided free to all basic education schools in the public school system.

The fCUBE programme has three components. These are improving the quality of education, improving the quality of education management and improving access to basic education. A Girls Education Unit has been set up to implement measures to increase enrolment of girls.

Education Finances. The share of central government spending going to the education sector increased between 1982 and 1988 (Table 7). It has fallen since then to about 17% in 1998. Education spending by central government was equivalent to 2% of the GDP in 1983 rising to 4.3% in 1995 (Table 7). The volume of spending by central government is determined primarily by three factors. The first is the responsibilities that the state has taken upon itself in the education sector. Education in the public system at all levels is tuition-free. Central government spending must therefore be allocated to cover tuition costs. Other policies reduce if not eliminate central government’s spending on particular items. To illustrate: the introduction of textbook user fees reduces how much government must spend on this item and the shift of the cost of feeding students in the secondary schools and tertiary institutions to households has eliminated government expenditure on these items. The second variable that determines the size of spending is the number of enrolments. As enrolments increase it is expected that expenditure in the sector will rise. The increase in expenditure is not linear because of the existence of economies of scale. The third major determinant of the size of central government spending is the cost of inputs in the sector. These parameters, i.e. policy, enrolments and the cost of inputs define the maximum that must be spent by government. Government however can and does deviate from spending the maximum that is required.

Expenditure per pupil in primary education has not kept up with the rate of inflation. Expenditure per pupil deflated by the education consumer price index fell between 1989 and 1991, rose in 1992 and 1993 and declined until 1997. By 1997 real spending per primary pupil was 66% of the 1993 levels. The decline could be due to two possible reasons. The first is the influence of economies of scale. As enrolment increases resources are being used more efficiently. For example the number of teachers does not have to increase as enrolment rises. Thus if the pupil-teacher ratio is initially low it can increase to a higher level without necessarily comprising the quality of education. Teachers salaries form a considerable proportion of central government spending. An increase in class sizes for example will reduce the costs per student. The alternative explanation is that over time government has not been able to provide expected supplies and inputs. At the national level the pupil-teacher ratio has not changed by very much. It is therefore likely that the decline in real unit costs is due to the second reason.

Table 7. Education Spending in Ghana by Central Government: 1982-1998

Notes: Education spending is the sum of recurrent and development expenditures

Source: Calculated from data obtained from Ministry of Education and Quarterly Digest of Statistics.

Recurrent spending on education by central government adjusted for the rate of inflation in the education sector rose in the year prior to the implementation of the reforms and in the two subsequent years. However except for the peaks in spending in 1992, 1996 and 1999, recurrent spending in real terms has stagnated since 1988 (Figure 3). Spending on basic education is the largest component of recurrent spending by central government. It averaged 67% during the period 1989-1999. Recurrent spending on basic educati