Expansion of basic education in Ghana was unprecedented and brought the country to the forefront in education in Africa. The report provides analysis, lessons and policy options to developing a post-MDG strategic agenda for basic education.

Ghana is on a strong trajectory toward solidifying its middle income status. Today, more children than at any time in the history of Ghana have access to basic and secondary education. Over the past decade, incidence of extreme poverty has been cut in half amid strong economic growth. Ghana's recent achievements point to the possibility of more fully realizing the human potential of all individuals and of the country. Basic Education beyond the Millennium Development Goals in Ghana argues that realizing this potential requires a redoubling of efforts to reach the poorest half of Ghanaian children with quality basic education. At present, system-wide disparities in education service delivery and highly inequitable allocation of resources has led to unfair educational outcomes. These disparities create a "missing middle" in terms of learning outcomes: although a small number of children perform well on numeracy and literacy assessments, more than 60% of 6th graders do not attain profi ciency levels. Several recent initiatives point to the possibility of accelerating Ghana's progress toward quality basic education for all: they improve equitable resource allocation, strengthen social protection, and provide additional academic support to improve learning outcomes. By outlining key challenges and promising practices, Basic Education beyond the Millennium Development Goals in Ghana seeks to stimulate a lively and productive debate on the future of basic education in Ghana.

Inequity is the central challenge facing basic education in Ghana and undercuts the potential contribution of basic education to Ghanas national development goals. Persistent disparities in education service delivery and inequitable allocation of resources in Ghana lead to highly inequitable educational outcomes. These inequities negatively affect system quality, efficiency and accountability and ultimately undermine broader national development. Wide-spread inequity in education service delivery significantly depresses system learning outcomes. This report describes a missing middle in terms of learning outcomes: While a small number of children perform well, the majority of pupils (more than 60%) pass through primary school without becoming proficient in numeracy and literacy. Specifically, children from Ghanas northern regions and deprived districts, poor and rural households and ethnic and linguistic minorities students who require the most support to meet learning outcomes receive, on average, disproportionately fewer resources from the government than their peers. Systemic inequities create this missing middle and drag down system performance. Following a decade of rapid change, as of 2013, more children are attending basic and senior high schools than at any time in the history of Ghana. In the past decade, Ghana has realized great growth, progress and change. Population growth, urbanization and significant GDP growth have changed the economic, political and social landscape of Ghana. In the past decade, incidence of extreme poverty has been cut in half. Introduction of Free, Compulsory, Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) and kindergarten has supported a near doubling of basic education enrollment in the past 15 years. Delivering basic education and ensuring equity has become more challenging. Compared to a decade ago, more stakeholders are involved in allocating and managing core education inputs and accountability systems remain unclear and weak. Addressing the deeply embedded inequities (e.g. allocation of trained teachers, support to deprived districts and populations) is further complicated by a complex and fragmented policy, management and financing environment. The persistence of inequity reflects the persistence of conflicting sector interests and poses genuine policy dilemmas. However, recent experience shows that accelerating progress toward equity and quality basic education for all is possible. Several recent initiatives in Ghana point to the possibility of improving equitable resource allocation, strengthening social protection and providing additional support to improve learning outcomes. For example, children with below-average learning outcomes in poorly resourced environments are likely to show measurable gains when provided additional support (e.g. instructional support, learning resources, management support, demand-side incentives).

The publication is UNDP's forward-looking review of the factors that shape the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) progress, along with the constraints and bottlenecks that have hampered MDG achievement in many countries. The findings build on MDG assessments in 30 countries that were undertaken for this review. The report shows that while there has been notable progress on many targets and indicators across countries, it is clear that much more needs to be done for MDG achievements to be realised by 2015. Accelerated MDG achievements will depend on unlocking constraints in these four key factors that shape progress at the country level: policy choices and programme coherence; governance and capacity deficits; fiscal space constraints and aid effectiveness; national ownership: political will and partnerships. Since each country faces a unique context and set of challenges, breaking the bottlenecks will require a country specific approach.

This report, the fifth in the series, examines the progress towards achieving the six Education for All (EFA) goals, set at the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000, focusing on the provision of comprehensive early childhood care and education, particularly for the most disadvantaged children. Programmes that support young children during the years before they go to primary school, encompassing care, health and nutrition issues, as well as education, are crucial to establishing strong foundations for subsequent learning and development. The report finds that demand for early education and care is expanding rapidly, spurred on by higher numbers of women in the labour market and more single-parent households. However, young children in greatest need, who also stand to benefit the most, are unlikely to have access to early years programmes, with coverage remaining very low in most developing countries. Participation in pre-school services ranges from 62 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean to 35 per cent in developing countries of East Asia and the Pacific, 32 per cent in South and West Asia, 16 per cent in the Arab States and 12 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa. In comparison, pre-school provision is almost universal in most Western European countries, and although enrolments fell sharply in transition countries following the break-up of the Soviet Union, they are now recovering. Although there has been considerable progress made in other aspects of the EFA goals, particularly in relation to universal primary education, more girls attending schools and an increase in international aid for education, the report highlights the major challenges that remain if the six EFA goals are to be met by 2015.