Administration
Education in Ghana is under the responsibility of the ministry of Education. Implementation of policies is assumed by its numerous agencies: The Ghana Education Service (GES) is responsible for the coordination of national education policy on pre-tertiary education. It shares this task with three autonomous bodies, the National Inspectorate Board (NIB), the National Teaching Council (NTC) and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). The terminal examinations of the pre-tertiary education are conducted by the West African Examination Council (National Office, Ghana): it includes the BECE and the WASCCE but also foreign professional examination. The Council for Technical and vocational education and Training is dedicated to the management of TVET. The collection and analysis of educational data is handled by the Education Management Information System (EMIS).
Policies are implemented in cooperation with the local offices: Ghana is divided in 10 regional and 138 local offices. The Ghana Education Decentralization Project (GEDP), launched in 2010 and ended in 2012, has increased the influence of local authorities over management, finance and operational issues when it comes to educational matters.
Financing
The Ghanaian State has dedicated 23% of its expenditure into education in 2010. More than 90% of this budget is spent by the Ministry of Education and its agencies: Primary education (31% of the expenditure) and tertiary education(21,6%) are the most provided. The expenditures are partly funded by donors. Among them can be found the World Bank, the United States (through the USAID), the United Kingdom(through the DfID) and the European Union. Their participation is usually project-focused and granted under certain condition, giving them a certain influence. This influence can provoke debates when it comes to key-reforms: For the FCUBE project, the World Bank imposed book charges in primary schools and reduced feeding and boarding costs in secondary schools. Facing criticisms, the Bank insisted on the "strong domestic ownership" of the reform and the necessity to ensure "cost recovery". Between 2005 and 2012, the part of donors in the Ghanaian budget has fallen from 8.5 to 2.5% of the total education expenditure.
Teacher training
Colleges of Education are the main teacher training institutions: There are 38 public and 3 private "CoE" split in then 10 Ghanaian regions. They offer a three-year curriculum that leads to the Diploma in Basic Education(DBE). The education is described as "uniform" and with a "national focus" even if CoE are present in every Ghanaian regions. The final examinations granting the DBE are conducted by the public University of Cape Coast's Institute of Education. The holders of the DBE are allowed to teach at every level of the Basic education(Kindergarten, Primary school, Junior secondary School).
Apart from the Colleges of education, two universities (Cape Coast and Winneba) train teachers. A specific four-year bachelor's degree allows to teach in any pre-tertiary education (most graduates choosing secondary education). A specific master's degree is needed for teaching in CoE. Universities also offer to DBE graduate a two-curriculum granting the right to teach in secondary education.
Distance education is also possible: the programme lasts four years and leads to the Untrained Teacher's Diploma in Basic Education (UTDBE). It was introduced to increase the number of basic education teachers in rural area. Serving teacher can also benefit of continuing education (in-service training, cluster).