Gender

Accelerated education programmes in Ghana and Sierra Leone are helping out-of-school children - especially girls - gain literacy, numeracy, and life skills, with most transitioning successfully into formal schools. Ghana’s Complementary Basic Education has reached over 533,000 learners since 1995, while Sierra Leone’s programmes support young mothers and overage learners through flexible, community-led models. Both approaches show high transition and retention rates, reduce early marriage and child labour, and highlight the power of inclusive teaching methods and strong government leadership.

Despite significant efforts, the global out-of-school rate has dropped by just 1% in the past decade. 122 million girls are still out of school today. With population growth, the number of girls missing out on education will rise unless we take urgent action. The question is not just how to get millions of girls back in school but how to accelerate their learning. Accelerated Education Programmes (AEPs) offer a proven solution, regularly achieving stronger learning outcomes in less time and at lower cost than formal education, while reaching the most marginalised. AEPs also offer lessons applicable to both non-formal and formal education.