Education in northern Ghana: how far behind, and what the data can and cannot say
On every set of learning and exam scores we hold for 2013 to 2018, Greater Accra is at or near the top and Upper East and Upper West are near the bottom. The data show the gap. They do not show its causes. All learning figures use the old ten-region map.
Primary 6 English proficiency, 2013 and 2016, five regions
† Region boundaries as they were before 2019.
Levels in each year, not change. NEA 2013 and 2016, Ghana Education Service. Old regional boundaries (before 2019). The 2016 report found no significant change nationally between the two rounds.
The figures
| Primary 6 English proficiency, 2013 and 2016, five regions (levels, not change) | 2013 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Greater Accra | 77.7 | 78.6 |
| Ashanti | 36.9 | 39 |
| Northern (pre-2019 boundaries) | 16 | 22.8 |
| Upper East | 22.7 | 22.1 |
| Upper West | 24.3 | 14.1 |
Literacy rate by region, Census 2021
- Greater Accra#1 87.9%
- Ashanti#2 78%
- Eastern#3 75.7%
- Central#4 75.2%
- Western#5 72.6%
- Bono#6 71.5%
- Volta#7 70.9%
- Ahafo#8 68.6%
- Western North#9 62.8%
- Bono East#10 56.3%
- Oti#11 50.6%
- Upper East#12 48.1%
- Upper West#13 46%
- Northern#14 41.3%
- North East#15 35.9%
- Savannah#16 32.8%
Census 2021, Ghana Statistical Service. Our calculation from printed counts of literate people and all people aged 6 and over.
BECE average raw score out of 600, 2018, by old region
- Greater Accra340.3
- Ashanti306.2
- Brong Ahafo (pre-2019 boundaries)301.9
- Western (pre-2019 boundaries)298.3
- Central287.5
- Eastern271.8
- Volta (pre-2019 boundaries)251.6
- Northern (pre-2019 boundaries)250.3
- Upper West228.9
- Upper East228.8
ESPR 2018, Ministry of Education. Average raw score, not a pass rate. Old regional boundaries (before 2019).
What the data show
- In the 10 sets of scores we hold for 2013 to 2018, Greater Accra ranks first among the ten old regions in 9 and never lower than place 4. None of Northern, Upper East or Upper West ranks above place 7 in any set. In 2016 Greater Accra led each of them by 28.1 to 64.5 percentage points on Primary 6 English and maths proficiency. English proficiency that year was 78.6 percent in Greater Accra, 22.1 in Upper East and 14.1 in Upper West.
- In 2015, between 86.2 and 87.3 percent of Primary 2 pupils in Upper East, Upper West and the old Northern region scored zero on English reading comprehension. In Greater Accra the figure was 47.2 percent.
- Fewer than half of Upper West BECE candidates passed in each year from 2015 to 2018, as presented by the regional office of the Ghana Education Service to the Ghanaian Times. The pass rates were 28.87 percent in 2015, 30.48 in 2016, 41.09 in 2017 and 34.14 in 2018. The pass mark is not stated.
- Census 2021 literacy points the same way. It is 41.3 percent in Northern, 46.0 in Upper West and 48.1 in Upper East, against 87.9 in Greater Accra. These are our calculation from census counts.
- Three limits apply. We cannot say whether the gap is closing. We hold nothing after 2018. We hold no learning rows for North East, Savannah or Oti.
What the data cannot say. We cannot say that the gap between north and south is closing or widening. We hold two assessment rounds, 2013 and 2016, and the 2016 report found no significant national change between them. We cannot say why the gap exists. The data show where scores are low. They do not show causes. We cannot say anything about learning after 2018. The latest assessment we hold is from 2016, and the latest regional exam figures are from 2018. We cannot say anything about learning in North East, Savannah, Oti, Ahafo, Bono, Bono East or Western North. They have no learning rows, and old Northern, Volta and Western values are not split between old and new regions. Regional changes between 2013 and 2016, for example in Upper West, could be sampling noise, because our tables carry no confidence intervals for regions. Every learning figure on this page uses the pre-2019 regional boundaries, and the page says so beside each figure.
Questions people ask
- Why is education in northern Ghana behind the south?
- The data show that the gap exists. They do not show why. In 2016, 78.6 percent of Primary 6 pupils in Greater Accra reached proficiency in English, against 22.1 percent in Upper East and 14.1 percent in Upper West. We hold no source that tests causes, so we offer none. The sources are listed on this page.
- Which region has the best education in Ghana?
- No single measure settles it. Greater Accra ranks first among the ten old regions in 9 of the 10 sets of scores we hold for 2013 to 2018, and never lower than place 4. We hold no learning figures after 2018.
- Which region has the lowest literacy rate?
- Savannah has the lowest literacy rate in Census 2021 at 32.8 percent of people aged 6 and over. This is our calculation from the census counts.
- What is the BECE pass rate in Upper West?
- As presented by the regional office of the Ghana Education Service, it was 28.87 percent in 2015, 30.48 percent in 2016, 41.09 percent in 2017 and 34.14 percent in 2018. The pass mark is not stated. The 2016/17 District League Table puts the regional average at 48.5 percent.
- How many schools are in the Northern Region?
- Our school register lists 2,701 schools in the Northern Region. That count comes from the register, not from the outcomes data on this page, and it uses the current regional boundaries, so it is not the same area as the old Northern Region in the learning figures.