This paper examines two literacy development programmes in basic school classrooms in Ghana: a books scheme for primary schools, mounted by the Ministry of Education in 1998 with support from the Department for International Development, UK, (DfID), and a reading assessment programme (Opoku-Amankwa and Brew-Hammond, 2011) aimed at promoting reading and improving quality of education especially at the basic level. The study reveals that very little is known about the two schemes, pupils’ access to the books is generally poor, and teachers interpret and implement the reading assessment programme in a range of ways according to their understanding. The paper recommends a detailed qualitative and quantitative study of the schemes to assist in future book development and literacy programmes. 1. Background and Context In September 1987 the government of Ghana started a new education programme1 to reduce preuniversity education from 17 to 12 years, comprising 6 years of primary education, three years of junior secondary school to replace the then four year middle school structure, and a final three years of senior secondary schooling in place of the five years ordinary level and two years advanced level General Certificate of Education programmes. The events leading to the 1987 major education reform are best understood in the context of the economic development of Ghana since independence, particularly the country’s economic depression in the 1970s and 1980s. At independence in 1957, Ghana had a thriving economy and, as of 1960, a per capita national income of ￡70, higher than many developing countries such as (Egypt ￡56, Nigeria ￡29, and India ￡25) [2–4]. Ghana had “a promising start as one of the richest, most successful and politically mature regions of black Africa, having substantial sterling reserves and well-formulated development plans” [3, page 2]. The relatively buoyant economy was backed by abundant human and natural resources, and these assisted the government of the newly independent country to implement its ambitious plan of industrialisation [4]. But this was short lived. Barely six years after independence, the economy, which was growing at the rate of six percent and making budgetary surpluses in the early years of independence, started recording budget deficits in the realm of 10 per cent between 1963 and 1965 [3, 4]. The decline was attributed to Nkrumah’s overspending to support his political agenda of transforming Ghana into “a paradise” in ten years [4]. The economic decline continued at a breakneck speed especially between 1972 and 1983
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