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A recent publication by Accra-based TV3, highlighting Ghana’s secondary education ranking in the 2023 Legatum Prosperity Index, has attracted criticism from members of the public, particularly on social media.
“Ghana’s secondary education ranked 137 out of 167 countries in the World,” the media organization posted on social media on May 10, 2024. As of Sunday, May 12, the post had garnered 227K views, 475 retweets, and 304 comments.
The news card shared by TV3 across their social media platforms
Among the comments were allegations that the report was ‘fake.’ Some of these can be found here, here, and here. According to them, the country was ranked 118. The Education Ministry, responding to the publication, said that the ranking was misleading.
DUBAWA Ghana decided to look further into this to bring finality to the debate. The government has been vocal in touting its achievement in the education sector, saying it is unmatched after implementing a Free Senior High School policy.
About the Legatum Prosperity Index
The index assesses countries on the “promotion of their residents’ flourishing, reflecting both economic and social wellbeing,” its website says.
One of the pillars on which the Index scores is Education, which measures enrolment, outcomes, and quality across the four stages of pre-primary, primary, secondary, and tertiary education, as well as the skills of the adult population.
The latest edition of the report was published in February 2023.
Ghana’s Score in Education
Globally, Ghana ranked 118th in education out of 167 countries.
However, specifically in the stages of pre-primary, primary, secondary, tertiary, and adult skills, it ranked as follows:
- Pre-primary – 1
- Primary – 134
- Secondary – 137
- Tertiary – 94
- Adult skills – 120
These details about the country’s rank in the various levels can only be seen in the country profile.
Ghana’s Performance in Education over the years
Ghana’s global rank in Education (118) is its best since 2007 when its lowest performance was recorded (129).
The report highlighted improvements in secondary education enrolment, lower-secondary completion, and access to quality education over 10 years beginning in 2013. However, in terms of education quality, there was no progress.
Ghana’s rank in the other pillars
Aside from Education, the Index scores countries on their progress in Safety and security, Personal Freedom, Governance, Social Capital, Investment Environment, Enterprise Conditions, Infrastructure and Market Access, Economic Quality, Living Conditions, Health, and Natural Environment.
The country’s best scores were in Personal Freedom (50th) and Enterprise Conditions (50th), but its weakest was in Economic Quality (134th)
Conclusion
The report that Ghana’s secondary education is ranked 137 in the Legatum Prosperity Index is accurate. The 118 score points to Ghana’s overall performance in education.
