Scope for private investment in schools in Ghana

Most of the times i have been writing on the scope for private tertiary institutions in Ghana and other African countries, but recently during a discussion with few education stakeholders, they prompted me to do a preliminary report on scope for school education in Ghana. I grabbed this opportunity and analysed some of the published data on school  education in Ghana to make my inferences. Below are some of the findings with my interpretation for the scope of private investment in primary schools in Ghana. For a comparative study, i have used data for Uganda also in some of my tables.

Goals

To take decision on undertaking preparation of detailed project report based upon the findings of preliminary report on scope for private investment in schools in Ghana.

Methods

1. Comparative analysis of data available on demography and education (preprimary, primary & secondary) in Ghana.
2. Analysing of response to mini survey on the expectations of Ghanaian's from schools in Ghana.
3. Comparative analysis of the curriculum and preprimary system followed by sample schools in Ghana.

Project Brief

Pre-Tertiary Education in Ghana is divided into three phases; preprimary (creche, nursery and kindergarten), primary and secondary. With a population of 27.41 million (2015, World Bank), Ghana has seen a high level of enrollments in schools since 1998, when major education reforms took place.

• 63,190 schools were operational in the academic year 2014-2015 with a total student enrollment of 8.839 million representing 32.25% of the country’s population.
• 38.98% of the schools are privately owned accommodating approximately 26% of the student population.
• Ghana is a young country with more than 56% of the population below 24 years of age and 54% of the population lives in urban areas.
• Majority of the private schools offer WAEC or British Cambridge curriculum preparing students for IGCSE exams.
• Schools are regulated by Ghana Education Service under Ministry of Education with a Deputy Minister in-charge for school education.
• Ghana is regarded as an example for democratic governance in Africa with stable economy and consistent flow of FDI. Delhi Public School is an example of Indian investment in school education in Ghana.

introduction

Government of Ghana emphasised on the importance of education by increased public spending and promoting private participation in the sector considered to be the backbone for long-term developmental goals of the country. Citizens of the country also actively participated in educating their children, hence a literacy rate of 76.6% was achieved by year 2015.  As per a report published by World Bank, private primary schools enrollment in Ghana in the year 2015 was approximately 10% higher than Uganda, another key country in the sub-Saharan Africa. Though the enrollments in private secondary schools during the same period was 8% less than primary enrollments in Ghana.

Demographic Analysis

As per Ghana Poverty and Inequality Report 2016 the general population has continued its shift into urban

zones, with 12% moving from rural to urban areas since 2006, meaning that Ghana has now become

a predominantly urban country. Regional changes in the distribution of Ghana’s poor population

largely reflect general population movements but with a few exceptions. Though Greater Accra saw

a 2.4% increase in its population share between 2006 and 2013, its share of the population of poor

people actually declined (by 2.1%). Urbanisation rate of Ghana has been 3.4% between 2010-2015 with 54% of the current population of 27.41 million Ghanaian's staying in the urban areas. Though Uganda has witnessed   faster rate of urbanisation (5.43%) but have only 16.1% of total population (39.03 million) staying in the urban areas.

Country / Region / City	Population (2015)	Population Growth Rate	Rate of urbanisation	Age Factor	Total Fertility Rate
Ghana	27.41 million	2.3%	3.4% (2010 - 2015)	56.86% below 24 years	4.03 children / woman
Greater Accra	2.277 million
Kumasi	2.599 million
Uganda	39.03 million	3.2%	5.43% (2010 - 2015)	69.36% below 24 years	5.08 children / woman
Kampala	1.936 million

GHANA POPULATION PYRAMID (AGE FACTOR 2014)

Source: indexmundi.com

With majority of population within the fertility age, Ghana  is destined to have an increased population of school going children in next few decades. The rate of urbanisation of Ghana depicts migration of population from rural to urban areas, hence expansion of existing metro cities (Accra, Tema, Kumasi, Takoradi) to accommodate this urban rush and demand for quality education.

Pre-Tertiary Education Analysis

Data published by Ministry of Education, Ghana for year 2014 - 2015 counts the total number of schools to 63,190 with 2615 schools based in Accra and 382 in Kumasi representing 4.14% and 0.60% school share respectively. Preference for private schools are higher in primary stages as compared to secondary stage. Majority of the parents in Kumasi (59.99%) prefers to send their children to private schools for primary education as compared to Accra (48.74%). Preference for private schools by parents at the secondary stage is almost twice in Accra as compared to Kumasi, but still not even 15% of the total secondary enrollments in these two cities.

Out of 2525 primary schools in Accra, 1402 of them are privately owned representing 55.52% share of the total schools in Accra. Comparatively 70.58% of primary schools are private in ownership, this justifies high percentage of enrollments in private primary schools in Kumasi.

School Trends	Ghana	Accra	Kumasi
Private School Enrolment - Primary (Pre-School, Kindergarten, Basic)* World Bank	25.27%	-	-
Private School Enrolment - Primary (Pre-School, Kindergarten, Basic)	22,49,634	4,31,602	2,00,232
Public School Enrollment - Primary (Pre-School, Kindergarten, Basic)	57,85,074	4,53,916	1,33,560
Count of Private Schools - Primary (Pre-School, Kindergarten, Basic)	24,330	1,402	355
Total Count of Schools - Primary (Pre-School, Kindergarten, Basic)	62,327	2,525	503
Private School Enrollment - Secondary	17.18%	-	-
Private School Enrollment - Secondary	63,922	10,132	2,843
Public School Enrollment - Secondary	7,41,052	64,765	44,850
Count of Private Schools - Secondary	301	50	8
Total Count of Schools - Secondary	863	90	27

Primary schools are private in ownership, this justifies high percentage of enrollments in private primary schools in Kumasi.

Response analysis of Mini Survey

Mini survey was conducted with a relatively small sample size of respondents from different income and job groups to understand the factors impacting decision on selection of schools in Ghana. All respondents were Ghanaian.

Questions used in the survey

Question Number	Question
1	What do a Ghanaian parent expect before selecting schools for pre-primary and primary schooling for their ward in Accra. Both when they are looking for expensive (GIS, Lincoln, ICS, Al Ryan, DPSI, American, etc.) and mass schools like Morning Star, Seven Great Princes, and other private schools outside automatic placements.
2	Do parents prefer separate Pre-Primary (Kindergarten) schools for small kids and move them to different basic/primary school.
3	Schools without playground also have a good student population. Are playgrounds not a deciding factor for school selection.
4	Are location and distance factors while deciding for a school.
5	How much average you know your near and dears are spending on preprimary and primary schooling.
6	Do parents have preference for teachers (experience and qualification). Is nationality of teacher also a concern?
7	What do a parent expect from a play school / creche. Safety / Distance / Affordability / International staff / Food / Distance from Workplace / Ethnicity / Religion

Profile of respondents

• Ex Vice Chancellors of Universities in Ghana
• Women Entrepreneurs in Ghana
• Project Leaders of a leading Media company
• IT Professionals
• Managerial level employees in private sector

Comparative analysis of sample schools

 

School Selection

Known private schools of Accra and Kumasi were selected to study their curriculum of study and preprimary teaching system. Schools were selected based upon their option of schooling by Ghanaian and foreign students.

Name of School	City	Pre-Primary System	Board
Roman Ridge School	Accra	Kindergarten	ISEB & IGCSE
American International	Accra	Kindergarten	American School Diploma
German Swiss International	Accra	Kindergarten	IGCSE
Soul Clinic	Accra	Kindergarten	IGCSE
Morning Star International	Accra	Kindergarten	WAEC
Christ the King	Accra	Kindergarten	WAEC
Al-Rayan International	Accra	EYP	IB
Ecole Francaise	Accra	Kindergarten	IGCSE / French
Multikids Academy	Accra	Kindergarten	IGCSE / ASDAN
Little Explorers	Accra	Montessori	Montessori
International Community School	Accra & Kumasi	Kindergarten	IGCSE
The Ridge	Kumasi	Kindergarten	WAEC
ENAS Hybrid	Kumasi	Kindergarten	IGCSE

Schools in Accra and Kumasi are mainly offering programs leading to Cambridge or WAEC qualification. Few IB schools are available in Accra only and are priced with premium fee. Average fee in above private schools vary based upon the curriculum and level of class. Mostly Fee for three terms are paid in one year by a student excluding activity fee and other accessories charges,

Conclusion

Private investment in the preprimary and primary schools are widespread in Accra and Kumasi. These investments are based upon the factor of high percentage of urbanisation and development of middle class. This is also proved by the numbers available in the public domain on enrollments in the primary sections in private schools.  As a preliminary study, it would be safe to make a statement in favour of private investment in the school sector in the top metros of Ghana. Further feasibility study would definitely help in minimizing the risk for any such investment.

Detailed report on the scope for investment in school sector can be discussed with Vivek Verma by sending an email to vkverma1978@gmail.com.