Ghana - Literacy and Functional Skills Project

Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY MICROFICPHE COPY Report No. 10164-GH Type: (SAR) Report No. 10164-GH LENO, J / X35025 / J4125/ AFTED STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT REPUBLIC OF GHANA LITERACY AND FUNCTIONAL SKILLS PROJECT FEBRUARY 28, 1992 Population and Human Resources Division Western Africa Department Africa Region This document has a restricted distribution and may be osed by recipients only in the performance of their offilcial duties. Its contents Fmay not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (DECEMBER 1 1991I US$l = 385 Cedis (0) 0100 0.26 US$ ACRONYMS CDR Committee for the Defence of the Revolution CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CODE Canadian Organisation for Development Through Education EdSAC I Education Sector Adjustm.nent Credit (Cr. 1744-GH) EdSAC 1I Education Sector Adjustment Credit (Cr. 2140-GH) ERP Economic Recovery Program GES Ghana Education Service GILLBT Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy, and Bible Translation ICB International Compet'tive Bidding IDA International Development Association JSS Junior Secondary School LCB Local Competitive Bidding MOE Ministry of Education NBSSI National Bureau for Small-Scale Industries NORAD Norwegian Development Agency NFED Non-Formal Education Division, MOE NGO Non-Governmental Organization ODA British Overseas Development Organization PAMSCAD Program of Actions to Mitigate the Social Costs of Adjustment PNDC Provisional National Defense Council SDR Special Drawing Rights SOE Statement of Expenditure SSS Senior Secondary School UNDP United Nations Development Program UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNICEF United Nations Childreno Emergency Fund UNFPA United Nations Fund for Population Activities USAID United States Agency for International Development WFP World Food Program WHO World Health Organization FISCAL YEAR January - December SCHOOL YEAR September - June (Basic and Tertiary) January - December (Senior Secondary) MAIN RAINY (AND FARMING} SEASONS (wheti it is difficult to run literacy classes) North July - September Central & South June and October West May - July and October - November In almost all cases, the earlier of the two rainy periods is most significant.  FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY REPUBLIC O^F GHANA LITERACK AMD FUNCTIONAL SKILLS _Mi-ECT Table of Contento CREDIT AND PROJECT SUM'IAY ......... ... ............ I- INTO_UDCTTON ........................ ............ 1 I I. THESETEETNGl . ........ - --., ... ^ ........ 2 IIt. .................................................................. 2 Ill. TI{E PLACE OF LITERACY IN 'THE- EDUCATION REORM PROGRAM.... 3 A. Background .................................... .I ......... 3 B. The Educational Reform Program .................. ........ 3 C. Literacy Proqrams in 3hana . . 4 IV. THE EXISTING FUNCTIONAL LITERACY PRORM. ................... 5 A. Political Commitment ................... .................. 5 B. Donor Support ........ .............. ...................... S C. Administrative Structure ............. 6 D. Facilitator and Supervisor Training ................ 6 E. Incentives and Rewards ................................... 7 F. Organization of a Functional Literacy Class .............. . 7 G. Learning Materials . ........................... 8 H. Post Literacy Materials ............... .. ................. 8 I. The Use of Radio in Functional Learnlng .... .............. 9 J. Impact of the Program ..................... 9 V. THE PROJET ..............9.................................. 9 A. Project and Program Objectives ........................... 9 B. Project and Program Targets .............................. 10 C. Project Elements ......................................... 12 D. Project Cost and Financing Plan .......................... 19 E. Lessons from Past Bank Experience ......................... 20 VI. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ........ .............................. 21 A. Status of Project Preparation ............................ 21 B. Project Implementation Arrangements ..... ................. 21 C. Procurement ............................................... 22 D. Disbursements . ........................................... 25 E. Auditing, Monitoring and Reporting ..... .................. 26 F. Environmental Aspects ......... ........................... 26 VII. PROiECT BENEFITS AND RISKS ........ ........................... 26 A. Benefits . ................................................ 26 B. Risks .................................................... 27 VIII. AGREEMENTS TO BE REACHED AND RECOMMENDATION .... .............. 27 1 This report is based on the findings of the appraisal team that visited Ghana in July 1991. Mission members included Mr. N. Sennett (mission leader), Ms. J. Leno (education specialist), Mr. C. Leesuwan (atdinistration and management specialist, consultant), Mr. P. Medcalf (print specielist, consultent), Mr. M. At lard (radio specialist, consultant) from the World Bank; Ms. A. Wel te-Strand and Mr. A. Tjeldvolt (research and evaluation specialists, consultants) representing the Norwegian government; and Ms. S. Agarwal (WID specialist, consultant) from the Critish ODA. Mr. Nat Colletta was the lead advisor for the operation, and Ms. Johanne Angers was responsible for project processing. Mrs. Janet de Merode and Mr. Edwin R. Lim are the managing Division Chief and the Department Director, respectively, for the operation. This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their offcial duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  (Table of Contents, cont'd) TABLES Table L Literacy Levels from the 1987/88 Ghana Living Standards Survey Table 2 Projeated Number of Learners Table 3 Facilitator Requirements Table 4 Supervisor Requirement. Table 5 Summary of Program Cost Estimates Table 6 Procurement Methods by Expenditure Category Table 7 Allocation and Disbursement of the IDA Credit 2.1 Literacy Rate by Locality, Sex, and Age Group 2.2 Distribution of 300,000 Learners by Language Groups in 1991 2.3 Tshe Setting 3.1 Literacy Rates Based on 1984 Census by Regions and Enrolment Rates in Basic Education in 1990 4.1 Donor Support to the Functional Literacy Program 4.2 Basic Literacy Primer Lesson Topice 4.3 A Study of the Impact of the Radio Programme on Literacy Participants in the Winneba and Tono-Vea Pilot Areas 5.1 Regional Targets for the National Literacy Program, 1992-94 5.2 Selection of Facilitators 5.3 Organizational and Administrative Structures for Non Formal Education - central, Regional and District Levels Levela 5.4 NFED Staffing Plan, 1991-1996 5.5 NFED Consultant Needs 5.6 Literacy House and Warehouse Architectural Designs 5.7 In5titutionalisation of Monitoring, Evaluation and Research within the NFED 5.8 Project Proposal for the Establishment of Dangbe District as a Research District for the Functional Literacy Program, 1991 to 1993 5.9 Training Schedule: July 1991 - July 1992 5.10 Collaboration on the Institutional Supervision for the National Functional Literacy Programmel Agreements between GNAT/NFED-MOE and NSS/NFED-MOE Respectively 5.11 Collaboration on Development Assistance for Income Generation Activities of Functional Literacy Groups; Agreement between NBSSI/NFED-MOE and Indicative Activity by Types and Costs 5.12 Proposal for the Publication of Newspapers by the Ministry of Information with the Collaboration of NFED; Agreement between the MOI/NFED-MOE and Contract Agreement between NPED-MOE and New Times Corporation 5.13 Participation of Publishers in the Publication of Post Literacy Materials; Agreement between Ghana Book Publishers Association/NFED-MOE and Matrix of Percentage Subsidies for Production of Reading Materials by Private Publishers 5.14 Agreement between Ghana Broadcasting CorporatLon/NFED-HOE 5.15 DetaLled Project Costs 5.16 NFED - Total Recurrent Budget Estimates, 1991 5.17 NFED - Total Recurrent Funds, 1991 6.1 EducatLonal Materials Proposed Procurement Timetable 6.2 Procurement Implementation Schedule 6.3 Estimated Schedule of DLebursements 6.4 Supervision Plan 6.5 Key Performance IndLeators 20CUMENTS IN THE PR_OJECT FILE MAP: IBRD 23607  REPUBLIC_-OF GEMN LXTERACY AN MUCTIONAL. SKILLS PRJCT CREDIT: AND PROJECT SUMMARY Borrower: Republic of Ghana Excutino A9__cny: Non-Formal Education Division, Ministry of Education Credit Amount: SDR 12.4 million (US$17.4 million equivalent) Terms: Standard with 40 years maturity Proe eat Des.ci_tio_: The project will, over the period PY1993-95, support and consolidate the Government's program of functional literacy. The project's objectives are: (i) to assist in strengthening the institutional capacity of NFED to manage effectively the entire literacy program; (ii) to ensure that all program aspects are subject to frequent evaluation and monitoring, and that research and evaluation become key inputs in the development of any new initiatives; (iii) to improve the existing literacy program so that a large proportion of the 840,000 adults who will be allowed to participate become fully literate; (iv) to ensure that all new literates, whether from the school ssytem or from the literacy program have access to a range of reading materials in Ghanaian languages; and (v) to help expand the coverage of the FM broadcasting system to support the functional literacy program and to increase the frequency of educational broadcasting in the Ghanaian languages. The project's main objective is to improve the quality of life of the poorest Ghanaians, especially those in the rural areas. Credit funds will be used to finance the production of printed materials; procurement of radios, bicycles, And sewing machines as incentives for facilitators and supervisors; procurement of development inputs, vehicles an.1 office furniture and equipment; staff training and technlcal assistance; and the construction of office and storage facilities. Benefits and Risks: Literacy in Ghana is not seen as an end in itself but as a means to economic, social, and political development, and as a first step towards the introduction of a more systematic approach to problem solving. The project is expected to have a positive impact on agricultural productivity, environmental protection, the status of women, a reduction in the birth rate, and an improvement in national indicators of physical health. The main risks involve the complexity of running a program in 15 languages; the difficulty of sustaining political support; logistics and administrative bottlenecks involved in carrying out such widely-  - i1 _ dispersed program activities; and ahortages of technically competent and committed manpower. These riako have been reduced by maintaining the program at its current size for three years until all systems and materials can be tested and established; by building up staffing and infrastructures while there Is a high level of political support; by developing appropriate incentive packagie; and by seeking skills from outaide the country where absolutely essential. BotiatedProiect Costs Local Foreign Total (US$ millions) _ Basic Literacy Materials 1.2 3.8 5.0 Support to Facilitators and Supervisors 0.4 3.6 4.0 Post Literacy Materials 0.3 0.5 0.8 Radio 0.1 1.7 1.8 Research and Evaluation 0.5 0.6 1.1 Institutional Strengthening 3.8 5.2 9.0 Infrastructure 0.9 0.6 1.5 Taxes and Duties 3.0 0.0 3.0 PPF Refinancing 0.0 0.8 0.8 Total Base Costs 10.2 16.8 27.0 Physical Contingencies 0.6 1.5 2.1 Price Contingencies 0.7 1.1 1,8 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS 11.5 19.4 30.9 Financina Plan fuss millions) IDA 2.0 15.4 17.4 Norway 1.3 1.6 2.9 Unicef 0.1 0.5 0.6 Government of Ghana 8.1 1.9 10.0 Total 11.5 19.4 30.9 Estimated Credit Disbursements (USS millions): XDA FiscalYe_ars FY93 FY94 FY95 FY96 Annual 4.9 5.7 5.8 1.0 Cumulative 4.9 10.6 16.4 17.4 Economic Rate of Return: Not applicable  REPUBLI C _F GiHM LITERACYLAND FNC-TIOA SKIL&S -PRJCT I. INR ODUCTION 1.1 Since the Introduction of the Economic Recovery Program (ER') in 1983, the people of Ghana, under the leadership of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), have been engaged in a far reaching program of economic recovery and structural adjustment. Unlike adjustment programs in some other countries the Ghanaian program has always placed very great emphasis on the social sectors, and has succeeded in reversing the precipitous fall in the provision of education and health services that preceded its introduction. As the adjustment program has deepened, Government has placed increasing emphasis on the human dimensions, by introducing a major educational reform in 1987, launching the Program of Actions to Mitigate the Social Costs of Adjustment (PAMSCAD) in 1988, and by choosing as its theme for the 1991 Consultative Group meeting in Paris "Enhancing the Human Impact of the Adjustment Program". 1.2 Government has increased dramatically its budgetary allocation to the education sector from a level of about 1.4% of GDP at the beginning of the ERP to 3.4% of GDP in 1990. In addition, donors have provided considerable support to the sector. The World Bank has played a leading role by approving a Health and Education Rehabilitation Credit in 1985, the first Education Sector Adjustment Credit (EdSAC I) in 1986, the Second Education Sector Adjustment Credit (EdSAC II) in 1990 and the Community Secondary School Construction Project in 1991. As a complement to these operations, starting in 1990 USAID is providing US$35 million over five years to support quality improvements in primary education. 1.3 Progress under the IDA credits has been gocd. For example, all tranches of EdSAC x were rel.eased with only a few months delay, and the second tranche review of EdSAC II has already been released on time. The Health and Education Rehabilitation project and EdSAC I closed on December 31, 1991 and the Community Secondary School Construction project has received wide publicity and is disbursing rapidly. Most importantly, enrollments have taken off at all levels of education after a long period of stagnation. 1.4 Despite the impressive progress being made in formal education, two-thirds of the population remain functionally illiterate. Of those who have been to school, 40% have lapsed into illiteracy due to a lack of appropriate reading materials, and the majority of the population do not own radio sets. Thus there is little way for Government to pass information on to the mass of the population. Given the fact that there are over 90 primary ethnic groups and 17 major language groups, it is even difficult for Government staff to become aware of what is happening in different corners of the country. The literacy program (with FM radio support) has been designed in order to try to break this communications barrier, and to give people the necessary conaciousness, attitudes, skills and knowledge so that their creativity can be applied to further national development. With this end in view, the Chairman of the PNDC launched a mass literacy program in January 1991. 1.5 The public's response has been extraordinary. Over 10,000 volunteers offered their services as unpaid facilitators and have opened classes for 290,000 learnars, 31% of whom come from the educationally-deprived northern region, and 63% of whom are females. Classes are currently running in 15 different languages, and planning is underway to provide a variety of  -2 reading materials to the neo-literates ao that their newly-acquired skills will not be, lost. Government is now seeking external financial assiotance to ensure that the initial enithuaiasm for learning is not destroyed through underfunded classes, poor materials, undertrained facilitators and supervisors, inappropriate teaching methods and a lack of post-literacy reading matter. This ia why timely donor support is crucial. 2.1 Low literacy levels are the result of past failures in formal education, combined with the low priority given to literacy programs, and a lack of a literate environment. Literacy is not an end in itself, but a tool that can and often does result in significant improvements in the social, economic, and cultural environment. It is therefore important to look at any literacy program in the context of the existing socio-economic situation. 2.2 It would have been expected, given the attention paid to both basic education and adult literacy programs just before and after independence, that literacy levels would be quite high. Unfortunately, the early gaint. were lost in the 1970a due to the economic decline that dried up resources that had been available for the production of a wide range of reading materials in many Ghanaian languages. In addition, the few scarce resources available were spent on elitiat secondary and tertiary schooling, which led to a serious devaluation of the quality of primary education, to such an extent that many of the children enrolled learned very little. Thus by 1987/88, despite the fact that 55% of Ghanaians had been to school, full literacy (the ability to write a simple letter) was attained by only 32.5% of the population over nine years of age. Table 1 shows literacy levels drawn from the 1987/88 Ghana Living Standardo Survey. M~~~~Mb& Literacy. and N_Mmeggaov-Rates by Locality and Sex (percent) ACCRA OTHER URBAN RURAL COUNTRY M F T M P T M F T M F T Can Read 78.5 61.8 70.1 52.4 31.4 41.3 37.7 18.3 27.7 45.5 25.9 35.4 Can Write 71.7 61.8 63.3 49.0 28.8 38.3 35.0 16.6 25.5 42.2 42.3 32.5 Can do Math 85.3 71.3 78.1 66.8 44.7 55.2 52.4 29.8 40.8 59.4 37.7 48.1 Note: (1) M = Male; F = Female; T = Total (2) Table is based on respondents nine years of age or older 2.3 Table 1 shows that rural literacy rates are less than half those found in Accra, and that rates of rural numeracy (which is critical, for example, to the application of modern farming techniques and to the protection of the poor from cheating in the marketplace) are extremely low.  w 3 - Other analysis of the same data show that in no age group does literacy exceed 50%, despite enrollment rates in primary schools greater than 60% over the past fifteen years. Applying the age-specific illiteracy rateu from the OLSS to ourrent estimates of the population by age, it seems that there are approximately 5.9 million adult illiterates in Ghana. Literacy rates by locality, sex, and age group are shown in BD21 and the 1991 distribution of 300,000 learner3 by language group is shown in nx22 2.4 Evidence from correlation studiea that relate literacy levels to a number of economic indicators in a wide range of countries suggests that it will be difficult for Ghana to make any significant improvement in these indicators (especially in its per capita income growth) without a significant improvement in the current low literacy levels. A dramatic reduction of illiteracy is thus essential If the Governmentle planned accelerated growth strategy is to become a reality. 2.5 Despite several years effort to implement the Government's economic recovery program -- as well as more than three decades of educational development and longstanding Government concern with social juotice -- economic and social conditions remain difficult. Poverty is rampant, malnutrition widespread, population growth is accelerating, infant mortality ratas remain at a high level, poor hygiene and sanitatLon continue to cause endemic diseases, negative social customs hamper development action, deforestation and environmental degradation threaten the future of food production, and women remain exploited. Though there is only limited evidence on the impact of literacy as opposed to schooling, this evidence does suggest that a literate farmer is significantly more productive than an illiterate, and is also more likely to send his children to school. Government, however, has more ambitious goals for its literacy program and expects that it will help mitigate all the problems mentioned above. These problems cre summarized in rnnezJ..a. II. TEPAEO IEAYTHE HE EDUCTION REFgRM PROGA A. Backcrougn 3.1 Until the mid-1970s Ghana had a relatively effective, but not terribly relevant, education system. Along with the economic decline of the 1970s, however, the quality of the system deteriorated and enrollment rates stagnated or fell. The precipitous drop in the availability of public resources for education (from 6.4% of GDP in 1976 to 1.4% in 1983) meant that Government was no longer able to construct, complete, and maintain educational facilities. At the same time, foreign exchange dried up, preventing the purchase of textbooks and other essential instructional materials. The economic decline also led to a mass exodus of trained teachers, especially the more highly qualified. The sector was weakened further by low motivation and morale, and by widespread misappropriation of funds. The system sank to such a low level that a significant proportion of primary school leavers were not even literate. 3.2 In addition, the structure of the educational system provided foa an inordinately long pre-university cycle (up to 17 years), combined with short school days and short academic years. These problems were compounded by a curriculum that was highly academic, emphasizing zote recall rather than mastery of practical skills. Finally, government's recurrent cost burden was exacerbated by high subsidies to cover the costs of feeding and lodging secondary and tertiary students, and overetaffing, especially of non-teaching staff and untrained teachers. 1. The EdMcaonal Refor ProgAM 3.3 In response to these problems the Government in 1986 initiated a sector-wide, multi-year program of educatLonal reform as a central part  -4- of its plan for economic recovery and sustained growth. It had four principal objeotivea. First, it sought to reduce the length of pre- university education. Thia structural change will, in and of itself, hai'e a favorable inmpact on the underlying goals of access cand equity, in that parents and Government will have fewer years of scaooling to finance per child. Cost savings from thls and other measurea are being used to expand enrollments faster than increases in the school age population. Second, it aimed to improve pedagogic efficiency and raise the quality of educational outcomes. Third, it included measures to contain and partially recover Costs, thereby freeing up public resources to improve educational quality and expand enrollments, eapecially to underserved areas and girls. Finally, it sought to enhance sector management and budgeting procedures. C. Literacv Prora in Ghana 3.4 In 1986, at the same time that reform of the formal education system was begun, Government also announced its commitment to significantly reduce illiteracy, especially among women and northerners, who have the lowest literacy rates. A broad policy document, "Mass Literacy and Social change Program (MASSLIP)", was prepared by the Non-Formal Education Division (NEED) within the Ministry of Education and the political appointment of a high-level coordinator of this division was made to ensure that all organizations involved in literacy would work together to develop and implement a program to eradicate illiteracy. 3.5 Adult literacy initiatives have a long history in Ghana. During the 19506 Government undertook a massive effort in 11 languages to raise the adult literacy rate, then estimated to be about 9%. The campaign was executed by the Mass Education Section of the Department of Social Welfare (today the Department of Community Development, DCD), and reading materials for new literates were prepared by the Vernacular Literature Bureau (today the Bureau of Ghana Languages). In addition, large numbers of religious, semi-governmental and non-governmental organizations were involved in running literacy programs. 3.6 Basic literacy instruction was carried out in a very traditional way, building up literacy skills from the alphabet, to syllables and then to words, through drills and rote repetition. There was no attempt to make basic literacy teaching functional, this being restricted to a post literacy level. Adult learners purchased at a subsidized price a literacy kit consisting of a primer, an exercise book and a pencil. Considerable attention was also devoted to the publishing of community newspapers in the Ghanaian languages. The structure and organization of this early effort has had a considerable impact on current initiatives, as most of the skilled Ghanaian literacy workers had their original exposure to adult education in this earlier program. Some more modern approaches such as the Frierean conscientization method, which the Government claims to espouse, have thus been difficult to operationalize. 3.7 Despite the strides made during the early years of the program, by the mid-1960s progress began to slow considerably. Political upheaval and economic decline led to severe reductions in funding and shortages of reading materials, and volunteer literacy instructors were no longer willing to offer their services free of charge. Lack of coordination among the various governmental and non-governmental agencies involved in literacy activities exacerbated the situation. The result was a dramatic fall in the number of new literates produced annually, from an average of over 22,000 during the 1950. to just over 2,000 twenty years later. With the deepening economic deterioration of the early 1980s, government-supported adult literacy activities came to a virtual halt. Literacy rates by region In 1984, along with enrollment rates in basic education in 1990, are shown in annex 3.1.  -5- 3.8 Religious NGOot however, continued to expand their activities, pa;rticularly aimed at enabling adults to read the Bible In their maternal languages. Perhaps the moat active group has been the Ghana Inotitute of Linguistlos, Literacy and aible Translation (GILLBT)i which has not only developed an orthography for 21 minority languages (mainly in northern Ghana), but has also made more than 45,000 adults functionally literate in 23 languages oince 1986, and hao published several hundred small bookleto in Ghanaian languages, many on functional topics. GILLBTs work has proved extremely useful in the development of Government'e own literacy program. It is eatimated that by 1989, Government and NGO literacy programs were together produclng about 36,000 new literates. 3.9 Today, evan with the successes of the education reform program, only about 80% of Ghanaian children are entering school and many of those who enter drop out after only a few years and never attaln sustainable levels of literacy. In addLtion, owing to the non-literate environment that exists in villages throughout the country, many new literates from the school system or adult programs lapse back into illiteracy. It is currently estimated that Lf lliteracy is to be largely elLminated withln a decade or ao, over 5.3 milllon Ghanaians must successfully complete llteracy programs, and these same adults will have to hava continuous access to interesting and useful reading materials to maintain their literacy. IV. THE EXISTING EUNCTIONA LITERACY PROGRAM A. Political Comitment 4.1 With the coming to power of the PNDC Government, there has been a renewed interest in undertaking a mass effort to eradlcate lliteracy in the shortest possible time. In his 1990 New Year's message to the nation, the PNDC Chalrman announced th&t Government would mount an effort to reduce the number of illLterates in Ghana by ten percent annually from 1990, and on January 22, 1991 the Chalrman formally launched the government's functional literacy program. over the past year polLtLcal support has also been exhLbited through frequent speeches by PNDC memberr and other political leaders, by daily newspaper coverage of the launching of district llteracy activLties and the opening of llteracy classes across the country, and by the participatLon of regLonal and district officials at varLous literacy events natiorwide. So effective has been the polLtical marketing strategy that demand to open llteracy classes has far outstripped Government's capacity to provide materials and trained facilitators, B. Donor Sgoport 4.2 Up until a few years ago the only donor support for literacy work was that provLded through a German foundatLon which supported both the Institute of Adult Education (IAB) and the DCD. However, with the launching of PAMSCAD in 1988, a signifLcant amount of foreign aesistance has become available. The most important of this has been from the British overseas Development Agency (ODA) which provided grant assistance of U.K. Pounds 1.4 million for developing a pilot program. Addltional support has been provided by Switzerland, UNPPA, UNICEF and WHO. Other donors have also been involved to a smaller extent, including the CanadLan Organizatlon for Development Educatior. (CODE), the British Council, and IDA (US$150,000 of EdSAC funds have been allocated). The dLfficulty in having so many donors involved during the preparatory phase of the operation is that most have thelr own agendas, and thus NFED has been pulled in several directions at the same time. annex 4 provides information about support for the lLteracy program from other donors.  4.3 NPED is responsible 'or coordinating the efforto of the various parties involved in literacy. Theoe include a wide range of governmental arid non-governmental organizations, church and trade union groupa, Committees for the Defence of the Revolution (CDRe), 31st December Womenle Movement, and individuale interested in making a contribution to their communities. Beyond its coordinating function, NFED has responsibility for the development, production and distribution of instructional materialsg eatablishing a process to aelect facilitators and supervisors and provide training for thom; and monitoring and evaluating program implementation. 4.4 During the first years of the new literacy program NFED relied to a great extent on the cooperation of other organizations, task forces, part-time staff, and other ad hoc arrangements. It wao soon realized that such a system by itself could not ensure effective management of a large nationwide program. Thue, over the past year or so, an institutional structure has begun to be formed drawing most of its personnel from other parts of the educational system. At the central level, 68 staff have been organized into three major divisiones: materials development, field operations (including research and evaluation) and administration. At the regional and district levels, 750 professional and technical staff L.ave been seconded from the Ghana Education Service and a much smaller number are in the process of being seconded from DCD and other organizations. The full-time staff in the districts and regions are involved in organizing training and supervision; in the distribution of materials; and in monitoring, evaluation, and ro-orting. District and regional staff are supplemented by part-time members of regional and district training teams, who are involved in all lerge-scale training programs. D. _acilitator and SuDervisor Trainino 4.5 Training. A national training team composed of members from NFED, IAE, DCD, and the Bureau of Ghana Languages (BGL) designed the initial training course and materials. Given the large numbers of facilitators and stupervisore to be trained, NFED has relied on a cascade training approach, beginning with the national team training the regional literacy committee members, and having these regional teams in turn take responsibility for trair-ng their district training teams who in turn train f.'-Ilitators. Supervisors are trained directly by the regional teams. 4.6 During the initial phase of the program NFED produced training materials and offered one-week training courses to most supervisors and to 1,210 facilitators in the pilot areas as well as a number in the non-pilot areas. The remainder of the 10,880 facilitators recruited in 1990/91 received either no training at all, or a one- or two-day course. The training covered a range of topics, including the philosophy of a functional approach to teaching literacy and techniques for working with adult learners, but it focused particularly on the teaching of basic literacy and writing. Despite the program's emphasis on funatio al learn_n_, relatively little attention was devoted to training facilitators how to lead discussions on development issues, to organize the class schedules, and to make effective claosroom use of written materials, Training was done largely through lectures, allowing only a short amount of time for the trainees to practice the new techniques. As a result of a national evaluation held in early 2991, there is now a consensus that a one-week session does not allow sufficient time to impart the wide range of information and skills that all facilitators and supervisors need to master. The evaluation also concluded that the training approach must be made more action-oriented and participatory. As a result, the course has been redesigned accordingly.  4.7 = ing gg a and handbooks. During the first part of 1990 NFED produced a range of basic training materiale, plus one handbook for facilitators and another for supervisors. The quality of these materials was variable, and the basic training materials and handbook5 in particular did not provide sufficient detail to be of use to their Intended audiences. RecognLzing that these materials were often too brief and general in their approach, WNED has now completely revised and improved them, and has also developed two further manuals to help supervisors and facilitators in their work. E. Ingentive and Rewards 4.8 Given the fact that the literacy program is based on unpaid volunteer facilitators and supervisors, NFED has seen a need to provide them with some form of incentives to elicit their participation and maintain their enthuoiaum and commitment over a number of years. Thus far radios have been made available to many of the facilitators and supervisors in the pilot areas. With the expansion of the program, a more comprehensive system of incentives and rewards has been structured to encourage both a high level of commitment to the program as well as a high standard of performance. F. Oranization o Functional-Literacy Class 4.9 Functional literacy classes are organized in a number of different ways. For many years small numbers of literacy groups were established by various churches, the Institute for Adult Education, and NGOs, and since the early 1980s by CDRs and the 31st December Women's Movemont. in the past two years, however, with the advent of the Government's functional literacy program, groups have been formed by individuals who want to teach getting together with community members who want to learn. 4.10 Literacy classes are held in varioua sites ranging from primary or JSS classrooms to churchee or community centers; in some parts of the country, classes are held out ln the open, with a mud wall used as a blackboard, and with learners eitting on rocks or logs. Classes are usually held for about two hours a day (generally in the late afternoon or evening), from three to five days a week. Until recently the program operated on an A