The Ghana Education Service (GES), in collaboration with the Ghana Education Coalition (GNECC) is pushing through a policy to certify and regulate CSOs working in Education. Per the draft policy, which the GES is rushing to implement from February, one cannot operate a CSO/NGO in the Education Sector of Ghana unless :

1. One is a paid up member of GNECC

2. One  pays an NGO/CSO application fee to GES

3. One’s activities are approved by GES

4. One’s finances are disclosed to GES

5. One’s project proposals and activities are all approved by GES before securing funding and implementation. 

The policy is in explicit breach of the Constitutional guarantees of Freedom of Association under Article 21 of the Ghanaian Constitution, as affirmed in the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Mensima Vs Attorney General and an Attempt to narrow the Civic Space and constrict Civil Society Voice  by controlling who becomes an NGO/CSO, their activities and strategies. 

All CSOs must sign up to oppose this policy and protect the Civic Space from executive dominance and control.