The Ministry of Education in collaboration with United States of America International Development (USAID) on Friday launched the Early Grade Reading Programme in Accra.
The event also saw the launch of the distribution and production of instructional materials for the transition to English activity.
The objective of the programme is to promote quality education and reading skills for Ghanaian children.
Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister for Education, said the partnership had created the opportunity for early grade reading as well as intervention to promote quality education for school children in Ghana.
He said with the support of the materials, the platform had been created for a rich reading environment in schools since learners have access to books, which were critical to develop their reading skills.
The minister said the colossal sum of 75 million dollars invested by the US government in the education sector would help boost the national quest to become a high literacy country.
Dr Prempeh said in January this year, the USAID and the Ghana Education Service (GES) sent more than 88,000 newly validated English and Ghanaian Language materials to 230 schools in 17 districts across the country, adding that the materials included Teacher Guides, Learner’s books, Supplementary classroom materials as well as Alphabet Charts expected to benefit about 18,000 learners.
He asked the beneficiaries to take very good care of the materials to justify the investment made for the provision of the materials meant to improve quality teaching and learning in the schools.
Ms Sharon Cromer, USAID Mission Director in Ghana, said improving the literacy and the numeracy skills of Ghana’s youngest citizens was the foundation to achieving the vision of Ghana Beyond Aid.
She said in the current academic year, the transition to English reading programme was being implemented in 230 schools, adding that much of what had been able to achieve together in reading rested on the high quality instructional materials developed and distributed to pupils and teachers throughout Ghana.
“The USAID is proud to have worked hand-hand with the ministry to validate these materials as textbooks and supplementary materials,” she said.
She said the transition to English programme was being implemented from October 2019 through September 2020 to demonstrate proof of concept in transferring reading skills from local language to English.
BY LAWRENCE MARKWEI
