Over 3,600 schools benefit from Communities of Excellence programme –  Deputy Education Minister

The Ministry of Education says the Communities of Excellence programme is being implemented in 3,608 schools across 129 districts to improve foundational literacy and numeracy, particularly in deprived communities and cocoa-growing districts.

The programme forms part of the GALOP Additional Financing and is being implemented with support from the Jacobs Foundation.

During a visit by the Board of the Jacobs Foundation to the Ministry on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, the Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Apaak, disclosed that the initiative places emphasis on strengthening community participation in teaching and learning, with a focus on improving foundational learning outcomes.

The Deputy Minister said several key steps had been completed since the foundation’s last visit to Ghana.

These include the completion of the operational manual for the Communities of Excellence programme, training of district focal persons, development of a Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) Leadership Toolkit for heads of beneficiary schools, and training of district teacher support teams on the toolkit.

“The Communities of Excellence program is an initiative under the GALOP Additional Financing to improve foundational literacy and numeracy in deprived communities, especially in cocoa-growing districts,” the Deputy Minister said.

“The initiative emphasises strengthening community participation in teaching and learning.

The initiative benefits 3,608 schools in 129 districts across the country.”

Dr. Apaak said the progress made on the programme demonstrates the growing cooperation between it and the Jacobs Foundation and expressed its commitment to deepening the partnership.