2020 - Present

Pre-primary, Primary and Secondary Education

National Level

A quick summary…

In 2020, the Ghanaian Ministry of Education’s National School Inspections Authority (NaSIA) requested EPG to support the development of a new School Licensing Policy, covering licensing, certification, and accreditation for both private and public pre-tertiary schools.

To get you up to speed…

NaSIA is an autonomous body recently established by the Education Regulatory Bodies Act 2020 to develop, promote and enforce standards for quality education in public and private Pre-Tertiary Educational Institutions (PTEIs). It is responsible for ensuring that the establishment of new PTEIs is in line with regulations, and inspects PTEIs regularly to ensure standards are maintained. The process of school registration that NaSIA inherited from the Ghana Education Service in 2020 was limited, ending at a provisional certification with no process for fully certifying and licensing PTEIs. The development of the new School Licensing Policy seeks to remedy this.

What we actually did…

Led by NaSIA, EPG drafted an Approach Paper outlining the overall policy objectives, the methodology and process for developing the policy, key components to be included, and the process for quality assurance for NaSIA’s Internal Technical Team. In partnership with NaSIA, EPG completed a desk review to gain a better appreciation of the school registration and licensing environment in Ghana, together with reviewing relevant and applicable international practices from peer countries. The desk review and analysis of current procedures raised a number of questions posed to NaSIA and offered a series of recommendations regarding important areas for definition, distinction and clarification of roles and responsibilities to be addressed in the policy.

Led by NaSIA, EPG then supported the policy development process through drafting the initial School Licensing Policy and supported regular consultations with the External Technical Working Group to review and provide feedback on several drafts. The policy was finalised and approved in early 2021.

Moving forwards…

The finalised School Licensing Policy will provide the overarching framework for ensuring that all PTEIs in Ghana adhere to the proper processes for registering their organisation and ensuring the relevant authorities have more in-depth information on the existence and characteristics of education institutions in Ghana. Ultimately, this will improve records and data on the number and location of all PTEIs. Secondly, the policy will provide the overarching framework for ensuring that all education institutions have the appropriate authorisation to operate, are complying with government requirements, and meeting the stipulated minimum standards. This lays the necessary foundation for the ongoing monitoring, support and accountability of schools through school inspection and school improvement planning.

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