INTRODUCTION

Ghana is endowed with a good education system a statement made by BBC News monitoring Department. The History of education in Ghana dates back to 1592. Over the centuries education has had different goals, from spreading the Gospel to creating an elite group to run the colony. After Ghana gained its independence in 
1957 the education system, then modelled on the British system, has undergone a series of reforms.
 Especially the reforms in the 1980ís geared the education system 
away from purely academic to more in tune with the nations manpower needs. The present structure of education, which starts at the age of 6 years, consists of 6 years of primary education, 3 years of Junior Secondary School, 3 years of Senior Secondary School and 4 years University or courses at other tertiary institutions. The first 9 years form the basic education and are free and compulsory .

With the assistance of several development partners (World Bank, Department for International Development (ODA) and international grants) the education system was reviewed and proposals were implemented in 1987.

A brief summary of the objectives of the implemented actions: - Increase access to basic education - Shorten the pre-university education structure from 17 years to 12 years. - Make education cost-effective 

- Improve quality of education by making it more effective to socio

The Junior Secondary School structure was put in place on a nation wide basis. Now 6 years of primary education and 3 years of junior secondary school were a standard 9 years of free and compulsory basic education. The reforms saw further changes from hours spend at school to educational resources such as infrastructure of class blocks and libraries, school supplies and technical skills equipment.

Although the reforms helped to solve some of the problems, the results achieved by students at the primary school level were low. The government then embarked on the BESIP/FCUBE (Basic Education Sector Improvement or more popular- the Free Compulsory, Universal, Basic Education Program) program, which was aimed at providing every child of school-going age with good basic education.

Some of the objectives of the FCUBE program were:

 - Improving the quality of learning and teaching

 - Improving access to basic education facilities 

The Tertiary Education sector also underwent reforms. 

By 1979 Ghana had 3 Universities with a number of research institutions and professional associations. The main objectives of the reforms were to improve quality, efficiency, access, equity, relevance and sustainability.

Chapter 4 - The Reforms of the 1980's