THE GHANAIAN CONSTITUTION
Article 25 of the Constitution provides:
1. All persons shall have the right to equal educational opportunities and
facilities.
2. Every persOn shall have the right, at his own expense, to establish and
maintain a private school or schools at all levels and of such categories
and in accordance with such conditions as may be provided by law.
Article 26 also provides as follows:
26 (1) Every person is entitled to enjoy, practice, profess, maintain and
promote any culture, language, tradition or religion subject to the
provisions of this constitution.
Education and Training
Public schools funded by government co-exist with numerous private
educational institutions, from nursery to senior secondary school. Five
public universities exist in the country. One private university was
established in Accra in 1998, and several religious bodies have recently
unveiled plans to establish additional universities in various parts of the
country.
The Government of Ghana has introduced a policy of Free, Compulsory
and Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) in the country. The policy seeks to
provide equal educational opportunities, especially at the basic level, for
children of school going age.
The Ghana Education Service, which is the policy implementation agency
of the Ministry of Education, has also set up a Non-Formal Educational
Department which promotes functional literacy among new adult learners.
Literacy
Although there has been some improvement in overall literacy rates in
Ghana, a strong gender differential in education remains. For example,
between 1970 and 1995, the overall literacy rate more than doubled from
30% to 64%; however, the female adult literacy rate in 1995 was 53%,
versus 76% for men.