As part of our policy and institutional accountability influencing, Eduwatch provides Technical Assistance to Parliamentary Committees and the Auditor-General in the exercise of their accountability and oversight functions within the education sector.

Recently, we participated in the Public Accounts Committee hearings on two (2) critical education sector reports: (i) The Auditor-General’s performance audits on the state of toilets in public schools; (ii) The Free Wi-Fi contract under the Ministry of Education.

In 2023, Eduwatch’s rapid survey on Free Wi-Fi in Senior High Schools revealed 83% latency, based on which Eduwatch requested the Auditor-General to conduct a comprehensive performance audit confirming our findings.

The contract has since been discontinued, saving the sector up to GHC 10 million monthly.

© Africa Education Watch

On Sunday November 16, Eduwatch was in Ghana's Lawmaking House to engage Members of Parliament (MPs). We argued that education cannot work in 2026 without the recruitment of at least 30,000 teachers for basic schools. The focus, as recommended by Eduwatch, should be on deploying teachers to the foundational levels in underserved communities.

Eduwatch's Executive Director, Kofi Asare, urged the Minister for Education to ask the Ghana Education Service to fully decentralize teacher posting with quotas that match declared and verified vacancies. Mr. Asare argued that the current centralized teacher deployment breeds inefficiencies in distribution, leading to teacher surplus in urban districts like Tamale, while classrooms in deprived districts like Chereponi remain empty. He also made a strong case for teacher rationalization.

On Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Eduwatch made a case for Workplace Experience Learning and Personal Protective Equipment to be costed under the Free SHS Programme to ease the burden on TVET parents. Mr. Kofi Asare reminded the House that a country that produces 500,000 secondary graduates every year with only 200,000 moving to tertiary has no choice but to make Free SHS skills rich. He added, that if government fails to ensure this, it worsens the 32% youth unemployment situation.

The Eduwatch Executive Director therefore called for a 20% quota for TVET in every secondary school infrastructure intervention, and as government plans to complete 30 E-Blocks, six (6) must be Technical and Vocational Institutes. Acknowledging the over 1,200 basic school projects announced in the 2025 and 2026 budgets, including basic schools, teachers quarters and school toilet facilities, Mr. Asare urged MPs to collaborate with Eduwatch in monitoring for quality and accountability.

Eduwatch will continue to provide Technical Assistance to Ghana’s Parliament to deepen their budgetary oversight on the Executive.

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Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) is urging the government to enforce a minimum one-year manufacturer’s warranty on all school desks procured for public basic schools under the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).

The call comes after the government allocated about GH₵600 million to address the nationwide deficit of roughly one million desks in basic schools. Eduwatch, however, has raised concerns over recurring cases of substandard furniture, with some desks reportedly deteriorating within a year, undermining value for money and leaving pupils without proper learning spaces.

In a statement issued on Monday, November 17, Eduwatch called on the Ministry of Local Government to work closely with the Ministry of Education to ensure District Assemblies demand warranty clauses in all procurement contracts..

"Eduwatch calls on the Ministry of Local Government to work closely with the Ministry of Education, to ensure that all District Assemblies demand a minimum one-year warranty on desks supplied under this programme," the statement noted.

The organisation stressed that this approach aligns with best practices in countries such as South Africa, Kenya, and Rwanda, where warranties on school furniture are standard to guarantee quality and strengthen accountability.

"This aligns with best practice across Africa, where countries such as South Africa, Kenya, and Rwanda require warranties on school furniture to guarantee quality, protect public funds, and improve accountability in the supply chain."

Eduwatch argued that a mandatory warranty would hold suppliers responsible for defects, improve production standards, extend the lifespan of school furniture, and ensure better value for the taxpayer.

"A mandatory warranty will ensure suppliers take responsibility for product defects, motivate higher production standards, extend the lifespan of school furniture, and deliver better value for the taxpayer," the organisation urged.

It further called on the two ministries to provide clear directives to all District Assemblies before awarding contracts.

"We urge both Ministries to issue clear guidelines directing all Assemblies to incorporate warranty clauses in their procurement processes before contracts are awarded," it added.

Source: myjoyonline.com

Education think tank, Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) has urged the Ghana Education Service (GES) to retrieve government-issued tablets from Senior High School (SHS) students and equip them with proper safety controls before returning them to use.

The call follows comments by Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu in Parliament on Thursday, revealing that some students were using the devices to access pornography instead of academic material.

Responding to the minister’s remarks, Project Management Specialist at Eduwatch, Kofi Nkansah Sarkodie, said GES must act immediately to secure the gadgets and install UNESCO-approved safety features.

“Those tablets have already been procured and distributed. We recommend that GES retrieve them and ensure that the safety measures are fully implemented. Retrieval can be done at the school level, and the necessary safeguards must be deployed. The devices are intended for academic purposes only, to support students’ learning, and not for any other activity,” Sarkodie said.

EduWatch stressed that retrieving and reconfiguring the tablets is essential to protect students from inappropriate content and to ensure the devices fulfil their intended educational function.

Source: citinewsroom.com

On Friday November 21, Eduwatch, represented by its Executive Director, Kofi Asare, participated in a Civil Society Budget Analysis and Engagement Session in Accra. Mr. Asare used the opportunity to share Eduwatch's preliminary statement on the 2026 budget with partners for deliberation.

The full statement is accessible via the link below:
https://africaeducationwatch.org/publication/statement-on-2026-education-budget

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On Sunday November 23, Eduwatch published a policy brief which reviewed the 2025/26 Senior High School (SHS) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) prospectuses. The review primarily found that, although the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ghana TVET Service (GTVETS) introduced harmonized prospectuses for SHS and TVET schools, parents still paid about 40% more due to additional unapproved items by schools.

The review also found that the high cost of bloated prospectuses places a heavy burden on poor families and undermines the Free SHS goal of removing financial barriers to secondary education. The situation is especially severe for the 25% of households living on less than GHC 8,000 a year.

Given that prospectus costs constitute only 40% of annual boarding expenses, rising charges may negatively affect 2025 admissions.

The review also revealed weak enforcement, with the harmonized prospectuses appearing more advisory than directive, raising concerns about its realism. Eduwatch recommends that erring school heads should be severely sanctioned, otherwise, the harmonized prospectus policy will remain a mere pronouncement.

The SHS/TVET Prospectus Review Brief is accessible via the link below:
https://africaeducationwatch.org/publication/reviewing-the-2025-26-shs-tvet-harmonized-prospectus
Report Size: 9 pages.

© Africa Education Watch