Leaving no one behind: tracking the effectiveness of the Global Partnership for Education Grant in Ghana

ABSTRACT

The Global Partnership for Education (GPE)/Education for All (EFA) seeks to reduce poverty and bridge inequalities through the provision of quality education in developing countries. This paper sets out to accomplish two main objectives: (a) examine the extent to which the Ghana Partnership for Education Grant (GPEG) retained its pro-poor intentions during the course of implementation, and (b) examine if/whether GPEG eschewed resource capture by the political elite. A mixed methodology approach was employed in this study. Findings of the study showed the program was largely implemented in a pro-poor manner and was also devoid of the elite capture of resources.

KEYWORDS:

• Accountability
• aid effectiveness
• participation
• education
• poverty reduction

Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the efforts and professional advice of my PhD supervisor, Professor Ponlapat Buracom of the National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand, whose comments shaped this work immensely from the thesis stage. The author also extends profound gratitude to Christiana Asare Claver, Paulina and Abdul Majeed for taking time to proofread the paper. Many others have made invaluable contributions to shaping this article; to these people, I say a big thank you.

Disclosure statement

This manuscript is drawn from a PhD thesis I submitted to the National Institute of Development Administration in Thailand. Although, in its current form, the manuscript has undergone a lot of revision, it has nevertheless retained a lot of the content of the PhD thesis.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Maliha Abubakari

Dr Maliha Abubakari is a lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. She holds a PhD in Development Administration from the National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand, and an MPhil in Public Administration from the University of Ghana, Ghana. She is an upcoming researcher with general research interests in public policy and specific interest in areas such as poverty, inequality, social intervention, and gender studies.