IDP Foundation's Executive Director, Corina Gardner recently spoke to Liz Longley at Inside Philanthropy about IDP Foundation’s support of the affordable non-state education sector – specifically low-fee private schools, and why we believe building their sustainability is key to tackling the continuing education crisis.

“If low-fee private schools did not exist today, the number of out of school children that we would have to deal with would be at alarming levels,” observed Stephen Opuni, the Country Director for the IDP Foundation in Ghana.

Before schools started to reopen this spring, more than 80 public education instructors in Ghana participated in virtual training sessions that featured Sesame Street Muppets Zobi and Kami, along with Ghanaian actress Matilda Asante playing their teacher Ms. Efia.

Financial assistance to school proprietors provides urgent relief to low-fee private schools, helping them to reopen, and preventing permanent closures.

The IDP Foundation, Inc. (IDPF), dedicated to encouraging and supporting sustainable solutions to complex global issues, has partnered with the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), established by the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023) to make a teacher-training programme IDPF-developed with Sesame Workshop, available to pre-service teacher education institutions in Ghana

IDP Foundation is disbursing urgent relief funds to the most vulnerable low-fee private schools that have participated in their IDP Rising Schools Program (IDPFRSP) in Ghana.

Ghana has joined those countries planning to reopen schools closed indefinitely in March last year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before the COVID-19 crisis, Lily Baah of Apaaso, Ghana, was busy running the Baah Memorial School with more than 580 students in nursery school through junior high.

In Apaaso, Ashanti region, Ghana, Lily Baah has been selling made-to-order pies, and children’s clothing crafted from local fabrics. The proceeds go toward salary payments for her teachers, who try to stay in touch with their students through WhatsApp group pages since Covid-19 has forced school closures.

A thoughtful article about the role of low-fee private schools in low- and middle-income countries, featuring the IDP Rising Schools Program.