USAID signs contract to improve accountability in education

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]amale – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Friday signed a US$648,000.00 educational accountability and transparency contract with the Northern Network for Educational Development (NNED), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), to help improve quality and access to education in the Northern parts of Ghana.
The contract which would span an 18-month period would be piloted in 200 basic schools in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West to monitor performances in effective management of educational resources.
Mr Robert Jackson, the United States of America Ambassador to Ghana initialed for while Mrs. Rosemond Kumah, Executive Committee Chairperson for NNED, signed for the NGO.
The Ambassador observed that Ghana has made significant strides in improving poverty and educational performances over the years but stressed on the need for more creativity, transparency and accountability to ensure total transformation.
He indicated that improving quality education needed commitment and consistencies on the part of the country adding that the USAID was very committed to collaborating with the country to improve quality education.
Mr Jackson expressed worry about the continuous neglect of the girl-child in education adding, “Education opens doors for many opportunities in society, people can acquire skills and gain employment through education”.
Mrs Kumah promised to use the funds judiciously for the benefit of the people stressing that “through effective governance and efficient management of educational resources, we shall achieve our goal”.
She indicated that NNED was endowed with human and material resources to competently deliver on its mandate to promote quality education.
Mr Gaskin Dassah, Coordinator of NNED said the NGO has a good track record and experiences in the educational sector of the country and pledged to impact its experiences on the project.
He said the organization was educationally-focused and has been championing and advocating for quality education for the northern regions since the year 2000 and expressed the hope that positive developments would be achieved in the very near future.
The Ambassador has been touring and inspecting some USAID funded projects in the Northern region most of which were educational, health and agriculture-related.