2024 GAWE Celebration

The Global Action Week for Education (GAWE) is a pivotal event organized annually to advocate for the importance of education and to mobilize action to ensure that all children have access to quality education. The global theme for the 2024 GAWE celebration is "Transformative Education," which underscores the need for significant changes in the education system to address current challenges and to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) – ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all.

Background

Education is the cornerstone of personal development and a critical enabler of national progress. Recognizing the transformative power of education, Global Action Week on Education (GAWE) is an annual event that galvanizes attention and action to address educational challenges and accelerate progress toward universal education. In 2024, Ghana joins the global community in celebrating GAWE under the global theme "Transformative Education," with a focus on innovative and sustainable approaches to education that can drive societal change.

Recent data from the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) has brought to light a concerning issue in Ghana: 1,215,546 children of school-going age are not attending school, with nearly one million of these children having never been enrolled. The Savannah Region is particularly affected, with the highest percentage of children who have never attended school at 43.2%. This situation is compounded by the Government of Ghana's budgetary allocation to education, which, at 12.9% and 14.5% in the 2023 and 2024 national budgets, are significantly below the 23% target pledged by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo. Additionally, Basic Education has seen a substantial budget cut, and there is a widespread lack of textbooks and poor school infrastructure.

The proposed national theme for the 2023 GAWE celebration in Ghana is dubbed “Empowering Future Leaders: Transformative Education for Sustainable Development in Ghana”. The theme is rooted in the Education Transformative agenda globally.

In summary, GNECC is of the view that without a strong commitment to investing domestic resources into education, Ghana is unlikely to make significant progress toward transforming its education system which is essential for the overall development and future prosperity of the country, much like how a vehicle needs fuel to reach its intended destination.

Objectives

The objectives of the 2024 GAWE celebration in Ghana are to:

· Advocate for transformative changes in the education sector to meet the 23% budgetary allocation target.

· Raise awareness about the high number of out-of-school children, especially in the Savannah Region.

· Mobilize resources to address the shortage of textbooks and improve the state of school infrastructure.

· Engage stakeholders in discussions on innovative strategies for achieving SDG 4.

Activities

The GAWE 2024 celebration will include:

· A national launch to highlight progress and challenges in the education sector.

· Advocacy campaigns to influence policymakers and secure increased education funding.

· Community engagement initiatives to identify and address local educational challenges.

· Media campaigns to highlight the state of education and the need for transformative change.

· Collaborative efforts with NGOs, CSOs, and international partners to support education reform.

Expected Outcomes

The celebration aims to achieve the following outcomes:

· A commitment from the current and subsequent governments to meet the 23% budgetary allocation for education.

· Increased public awareness and stakeholder engagement in education reform.

· Tangible improvements in the provision of textbooks and school infrastructure.

· A strategic roadmap for achieving transformative education in Ghana.

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Monitoring and Evaluation

A monitoring and evaluation plan will be implemented to track the progress of the GAWE activities and measure their impact on the education sector. This will include indicators such as changes in budget allocation, improvements in school infrastructure, and increases in school enrollment rates.

Conclusion

The 2024 GAWE celebration presents an opportunity for Ghana to catalyze transformative education and make significant strides toward achieving SDG 4. By addressing the critical issues of funding, infrastructure, and access to education, Ghana can ensure that all children can learn and develop to their full potential.