USAID organizes forum for selection of participants in GAIT

Koforidua, March 15, GNA - A one-day forum organized by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for some district assemblies in Greater Accra and Eastern regions for the selection of some of them to participate in the Government Accountability Improvement Trust (GAIT) and the Education Quality for All (EQUALL) programme was opened at Koforidua on Tuesday.

Speaking at the forum Mr Kingsley Arkorful, the Deputy Team Leader of the USAID EQUALL Project, said his organization is holding four forums throughout the country to select 15 District Assemblies to participate in the two projects.

He said one of the four forums had been organized in Ho and others would be held in Cape Coast and Kumasi by the end of the week. Mr Arkorful said district assemblies that would be selected would exclude those that are based in the regional capitals or those World Bank would be funding projects in.

He said under the EQUALL Project, the selected districts would be supported to achieve their strategic plans by building the capacity of the district teacher support teams to implement literacy and reading improvement activities in primary schools.

The project would support plans to ensure improvement in management of schools and quality of education especially, reading, the training of teachers and head teachers and the provision of reading materials.

Mr William Osafo, a resource person of the GAIT project, said the project aimed at strengthening democratic and decentralized governance through increased civic society involvement in the planning and implementation of District Assembly programmes and projects. Mr Yaw Barimah, the Eastern Regional Minister, expressed his appreciation to USAID for funding the GAIT and EQUALL projects.