Civil society collective action and policy-influencing
challenge inequality in access, quality, governance and financing of education.
When democratically elected school boards and other community structures, movements and voluntary groups are strengthened in their capacity development, they hold authorities to account. They take ownership of areas which they believe have gaps and work to bridge them. They work to influence the development of their own school and community, support policies that provide housing, conditions of service and professional development for teachers, create pathways for vulnerable and neurodiverse learners to thrive, and oversee access, participation, and the implementation of laws at district level.
Oxfam works with progressive civil society actors and supports the development of their capacity to organize and act collectively so that they become important change-makers who are able to take on challenges and create innovative, inclusive and context-based solutions.
Case story
Youth Connect For Change in Education
From Left to Right: Abdul Hayi Moomen (Broadcaster of Ghana Television), Theodora Williams Anti (Programme Manager, FOSDA) & Solomon Okai (Programmes Officer, FOSDA) in a discussion on TVET financing held on Tuesday 23rd February, 2021 as part of advocacy.
In Ghana, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has long been underprioritised and under-financed, despite the fact that the acquirement of skills to become self-reliant and the creation of decent jobs for decent lives are top priorities for young people in the country–priorities where TVET play a key role. With the campaign in case, Youth Connect for Change in Education, young people have mobilized and, in collaborative effort with the media, contributed to making TVET a focus area in the political arena.
The campaign, Youth Connect for Change in Education, was initiated in 2018 and has been implemented in collaboration with partners Foundation for Security Development in Africa (FOSDA) and National Network of Youth Groups (NNYOG). In the course of four years, the youth-led campaign covered a number of influencing activities, each contributing to making TVET a political priority amongst politicians. Furthermore, young people were mobilized across 7 subnational groups, giving birth to the youth networks in Ghana today.
The foundation for the campaign was an assessment carried out by YEG partners and youth networks or federations that investigated issues of priority to young people. What emerged as a topmost priority was the lack of relevant skills among young people to become self-reliant and the creation of decent jobs for decent lives. Improving access to and quality of TVET was identified as key to the skills gap. This part of the education sector is currently not prioritized in Ghana’s policy and financing.
In order to address this problem, the campaign used a variety of strategies, predominantly led by youth networks.
A national youth dialogue on transformative education brought together the Ministry of Education, INGOs and other development partners. The dialogue platform was facilitated with the purpose of discussing TVET and the use of transformative education as a tool in this part of the education system. Young people made critical proposals meant to shape the content and accessibility of TVET programmes in Ghana. A communique was served to the Ministry of Education, some of which have been adopted in policy (the creation of TVET institutions in every region and the harmonization of the skills efforts in the informal sector, among others).
A video documentary was developed by the young people themselves, gathering views from industry/employer stakeholders, managers of TVET institutions, educators, and the state governing council for TVET to create a better picture of the sector and to allow deeper reflections on the subject before coming out with pragmatic policies. Furthermore, young people developed and launched a national youth manifesto, which highlighted TVET as the topmost priority for the youth. The objective of the manifesto was to further deepen the campaign by contributing knowledge and policy options for the various political marketers who were seeking the mandate from citizens.
To further generate dialogue and raise awareness on the current state of reforming and financing of TVET in Ghana, FOSDA partnered up with the radio station Citi FM to host a National Youth Forum on TVET. Participants at the forum included the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of TVET; students and teachers from TVET institutions, tax experts and CSOs.The forum constituted a possibility for key stakeholders to discuss the need for dedicated government funding to the TVET sector, including the development a TVET financing policy to boost TVET financing. Citi FM broadcasted parts of the event, and thereby supported to highlight the issue more broadly.
Finally, there are plans to engage the president directly through what is described as “Time with the President”, a creation and innovation by the YEG partners. These are multi-dimensional approaches adopted by youth movements and partners to get the government to move beyond political rhetoric to acting on the demands of young people.
All in all, these activities have contributed to the creation of concrete changes: The government and other political parties have committed themselves to transforming TVET into a main source of technical education and skills development for the youth. Proposals from young people have been adopted in policy, and the TVET - sector has been highlighted as an important political priority for young people. On a regional level, the programme has made an impact as well. Oxfam and partners have been invited to join the Inter Agency Expert Discussions on the revitalization of TVET in ECOWAS. This opportunity led to the adoption of 5 policy asks into the final report waiting for the sign-off by the ECOWAS Ministers of Education to become a working document for member countries. The asks include the establishment of a minimum funding benchmark for TVET from national education and development of a regional qualification framework to secure effective mobility of skills within the sub-region.
Key to the successes has been the deliberate mobilization of youth groups and building of critical synergies with other groups in the country, including the media, which have amplified the campaign further. The case is thus a good example of how strong civil society, with the right support, stand in influencing policies, especially if the issue relates well with them. They approach the campaign with all the passion and creativity they have, organizing and acting to ensure that the change happens.