Leave (NO) Girls Behind - A case study of Special Needs Education in Ghana

• In Event: Leave No Child Behind: Issues in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Proposal

The Strategic Approaches to Girls’ Education (STAGE) project, funded by Foreigh commonwealth development Office (formally UKAID) under the Leave No Girl Behind initiative, is implemented by World Education, Inc. in Ghana from 2018-2023. Its main objective is to identify, engage and empower Out of School Girls (OOSG) between 10-19 years of age. The group of girls between 10 and 14 years were supported to transition into formal education after an accelerated learning programme of nine months, whilst the group of girls between 15 and 19 entered the world of work or enrolled for further vocational training. A characteristic shared among all the 17,000 girls enrolled in the program was that they were marginalized due to being out of school; teenage pregnancy, extreme poverty, disabilities, remoteness, child marriage and other reasons.. Despite the impact made by the STAGE project through significant gains in literacy, numeracy live skills and successful business start-ups by the majority of the girls, a group of 19 girls with special needs

It has been challenging to provide appropriate educational support to girls with more severe disabilities.These girls, often younger than 15 years old, should have been exposed to formal education at much younger ages according to Ghanaian law. However, they have been kept away from any form of social services by their parents or caregivers. Additionally, the Special Educational Needs (SEN) schools to which they were referred by STAGE have inadequate resources and facilities. There were some safeguarding concerns as well. Many of these SEN schools are boarding schools which are often far away from their communities. Parents and caregivers are initially very skeptical about the well-being of the girls and other financial constraints.

National and international specialists came together to discuss mitigating measures and engage with the girls with severe disabilities to learn more about their aspirations and well-being. Similar to many cases in other parts of the world, the mainstream basic education schools are not well equipped to provide special education and care to children with severe impairments even though Ghana is implementing the inclusive education policy. It should be recognized that there are limitations to ‘inclusiveness. For example, inaccessible built environments, limited special education, inadequate information in accessible format, limited sign language interpreters, among others. This is further exacerbated by stigma within schools and communities.


The results of the project’s research has led to a structured approach that STAGE and the Government of Ghana apply consistently. The adoption of this approach, supported by the girls, caregivers, communities and schools, resulted in getting 19 girls enrolled in SEN where they are learning and acquiring skills that will eventually increase participation in society.

This presentation aims to present the processes that led to the identification of impairments and the support and referral mechanisms that the project put in place to change the perception and behavior of the girls, parents and communities in order to gain full support for future education of girls with severe disabilities.


We will discuss the protocols and tools developed to assess the quality of education and identify safeguarding risks in SEN boarding schools. Through this we will emphasize the need to work with district and regional authorities to ensure that improvements are supported and sustained.

Lastly, we will give voice to the girls, their communities and experts to allow them to become agents of change for other boys and girls who live under similar circumstances in, and outside, of Ghana. Then, with safe and appropriate education, we can truly say that No Girls or Boys are left behind.

Author

• Willem van de Waal, World Education Inc.