Dilemma of Access and Provision of Quality Basic Education in Central Region, Ghana

Abstract

A survey research was conducted to find out if reported improvements in access to education in Ghana are reflected in comparable improvements in delivery of quality education. The study examined theoretical constructs on adequacy and quality assurance in education to ascertain the state of quality provision in education, and whether there is a significant difference in existing quality provisions in education and what the quality provisions should be as perceived by the study respondents. Questionnaire and quality indicators observation check list were used to collect data from the study respondents consisting of heads of basic schools in the Central region of Ghana who were selected by simple random sampling technique. Data collected were analyzed using both descriptive statistics and gap analysis that utilized paired samples t test procedure.Major findings reported in the study showed that reported improvements in access to education do not correspond to improvements in the provision of educational facilities to assure the delivery of quality education. Also, there was statistically significant difference in existing quality provisions in education and what the quality provisions should be. Keywords: Educational Access, Enrollment, Quality Provisions, Educational Infrastructure