Kindergarteners in Shai Osudoku now sit comfortably while at school
- On November 18, 2018
In April 2018 we launched a monitoring report on kindergarten access and quality in Ghana. Following the launch, SEND Ghana and its district citizens monitoring committees have been leading dialogues across 30 districts to draw attention to the report findings and recommendations, such as the need for improved infrastructure. Two kindergartens in Shai Osudoku received age-appropriate tables and chairs as a result of those dialogues.
Since 2009, the Abuvie Kpong and Ada Korpe kindergartens in Shai Osudoku were using dual desks intended for primary schools. The desks were too big for children of kindergarten-going age, so they had to stand to write. A contract had been awarded for the procurement of age-appropriate tables and chairs, but delivery of the furniture had not yet taken place.
On May 15th, SEND Ghana and the Shai Area Progressive Union (SHAPU) met with the Shai Osudoku District Assembly to share findings and recommendations of SEND’s April 2018 monitoring report “Education for All: Is Ghana Leaving KGs Behind?”
Lack of infrastructure was one of the key report findings, and Amadu Iddrissu, assistant director of the assembly, said the dialogue “demonstrated the need for these items to be dispatched immediately to the schools.”
Iddissu said the assembly immediately followed up on the contract that had been awarded for the procurement of age-appropriate kindergarten furniture to ensure speedy delivery and distribution.
Eight days after the dialogue, the assembly received 250 age-appropriate tables and 1,500 age-appropriate chairs, and began supplying them to schools in need. The Ada Korpe kindergarten school received seven tables and 35 chairs, and the Abuvie Kpong kindergarten school received eight tables and 48 chairs.
According to Ada Korpe Head Teacher Samuel Asare, the age-appropriate furniture has brought immense relief to his students.
“Pupils are able to comfortably write on their tables without standing as they formerly did,” said Asare. “In addition, they are able to interact more with colleagues and play with manipulates.”
This research and dialogue constituted part of SEND Ghana’s ‘Making the Budget Work for Ghana’ social accountability initiative project. The four-year project, funded by the World Bank under the Global Partnership for Social Accountability, aimed at improving access and quality of services in priority programs in the health and education sectors by strengthening accountability and transparency in the budget process.
For more from the kindergarten monitoring report, visit the Publications section of our website: http://sendwest.wwwnl1-ss18.a2hosted.com/index.php/publications/research-reports/others/education-for-all-is-ghana-leaving-kgs-behind.