Non-State Actors (NSAs) And Basic Education Development In Rural Ghana: The Case Of NGOs In Nkwanta South District In Oti Region

Abstract

Non-State Actors have played a vital role in delivering different interventions to support the government's effort in the context of alternative development in all sectors, including education, during the last several years. The efforts of non-state actors, particularly NGOs, have become increasingly important in attaining universal education. Thus, the goal of this research is to identify and analyze non-state actors and basic education development in rural Ghana, specifically in the Nkwanta South District of Ghana's Oti Region. The study used a descriptive research design with a mixed methods approach and a sample size of 107 people. The descriptive survey designs are aimed at determining the nature of the interventions offered by the NSAs and as they exist at the time of the study, by revealing how things are in their current state. The leaders and personnel of institutions (NGOs, GES-District Directorate, DA, and Traditional Authorities) as well as parents were chosen using both purposive and random sampling procedures. Furthermore, data was collected using interviews, both open and close ended questionnaires, with participants being asked to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement on a range of research questions in order to achieve the study's goals — Non- State Actors and Basic Education Development in Rural Ghana. As a consequence, some of the statements were given a Likert scale rating. The findings revealed that NGOs' efforts were aimed at promoting education by focusing on identifiable/targeted beneficiaries in order to achieve holistic education development. The NGOs that were evaluated used a variety of interventions to promote education in the district, including capacity building, monetary transfers, educational inputs, and infrastructure. This has helped to promote female child education, improve teaching and learning, increase enrolment, and mobilize resources, among other things. The report concluded that NSAs have exhibited a strong commitment to advancing education in the district through a variety of approaches that have had a major impact. However, financing uncertainties and gaps continue to be a problem, preventing most programs from being scaled up to a larger audience inside the district and beyond.