Are you passionate about development and eager to gain hands-on experience in business development and resource mobilization? STAR-Ghana Foundation is looking for a dynamic and motivated BDU Intern to join our team! Interested?
Application Process
Interested persons should submit a 2-page Letter of Motivation indicating why they are applying for the Internship position, how they meet the criteria and what they hope to contribute to the success of the STAR-Ghana Foundation Business Development Unit.
Here is a document detailing eligibility criteria, among other requirements document Terms of Reference BDU Intern (76 KB)
Applications should be addressed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Deadline for receipt of applications is Friday February 21st, 2025.
Please note, this is a one-year internship and not a full-time employment
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Civil Society calls on Government to implement recommendations of the constitutional review commission
The Election Community of Practice and Learning (ECoPL) has organized a high-level stakeholders’ forum on the theme: The Constitutional Review Process, where are we? The event, which was held on Wednesday 30th November 2019 at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in Accra was supported by STAR Ghana Foundation.
Speaking on behalf of the Chairperson of the Governing Council (GC) of STAR Ghana Foundation, Professor Audrey Gadzakpo – member of the GC of the Foundation and Dean of the School of Information and Communication Studies, called on the government of Ghana to adopt an aggressive approach to implementing the recommendations of the constitutional review commission. Prof. Gadzakpo called for a holistic implementation of the recommendations.
“It is important that we adopt a holistic approach to the constitutional review process. We need therefore to put the implementation of the amendments firmly into our priority agenda. We need to re-energize citizens to deepen and consolidate democratic governance. The current situation which we think partly is from outstanding issues in the constitution that we are yet to address is breeding apathy, disengagement of citizens and importantly undermining accountability while encouraging impunity and promoting corruption”.
Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Dame, on his part indicated that the Government of Ghana was working around the clock to implement the recommendations. He said:
“The Attorney General has actually… taken steps to implement some of the recommendations of the constitution review commission. I have indicated that there have been submissions from the office of the Attorney General to Parliament for the amendment of article 243 (1).”
Elections Community of Practice and Learning (ECOPL) is a coalition of highly recognized civil society organizations, media houses, the National Commission for Civic Education, National Media Commission, National Peace Council, Political Parties and activists working together to positively influence elections planning, administration and system in Ghana. ECoPL has four priority areas namely: Constitutional Reforms, peace and security, election credibility and inclusivity as well as the use of ICT tools in elections management.
ECOPL on constitutional reforms stern from STAR-Ghana’s learning vision to strengthen and encourage learning, internally in STAR-Ghana and externally amongst civil society organizations and across diverse stakeholders in Ghana; and more particularly to mobilize critical stakeholders within the governance landscape to harness and share the lessons and emerging issues in respect of the implementation of recommendations for constitutional reforms in Ghana.
Call for Applications: Carol Bellamy Leadership Award 2025
STAR-Ghana Foundation invites applications for the Carol Bellamy Leadership Award 2025 (CBLA 2025) from women-led small organizations or individuals working at the intersection of women’s empowerment and Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE). This award offers $2,000 in funding for capacity strengthening, leadership support, and the implementation of PVE initiatives. If you are influencing change in your community and advancing efforts to prevent violent extremism, apply now for this opportunity to amplify your impact! Here is a document detailing eligibility among other requirements
Terms of Reference for Carol Bellamy Leadership Award
How to apply
The Expression of Interest (EOI) should be submitted via e-mail with the subject line: CBLA Torchbearer to info@star-ghana.org with EAgbenyadzi@star-ghana.org and fnuuri-teg@star-ghana.org in copy by close of business on 16th March 2025. Questions or requests for clarifications should be directed to: info@star-ghana.org.
Stakeholders push for more investments to improve girl’s education
Speakers at a STAR-Ghana Foundation forum have called for increased investments in education to improve access to education for all.
The call is coming on the back of concerns that poverty and cost-related (hidden) challenges remain foremost on the list of barriers that confront girls’ continuous access to education.
Therefore, the unique needs of girls should be factored into education financing to enable girls to enroll, remain and complete their education.
The forum was held under the theme ‘Increasing Inclusive Access to Continuous Quality Education for Girls.”
In a scoping review of the challenges to girls’ education, Projects Manager at STAR-Ghana Foundation, Dr Ernestina Tetteh, cited as an example, the public outcry over prospectus for senior high school (SHS) education indicates that the Free SHS policy is not as inclusive as purposed to be.
“If accompanying FSHS is an estimated cost of GH₵3000 to GH₵4000 to buy prospectus then some people will still be left out. So, those costs that we see behind ‘free’ does not make it inclusive and ensure that girls also have access to, remain and complete education,” she said.
According to Dr Tetteh, there is low budgetary allocation for specific interventions that benefit girls’ education.
For instance, until the year 2020, complementary basic education, an important strategy in reducing the growing number of ‘out of school children’ especially girls, was solely donor funded. In the 2023 budget, an allocation of GH₵2.1 million has been made for complimentary education, while the Ministry of Education’s Strategic Plan 2018-2030 commits only 1 percent (%) of its Basic Education Budget to supporting Complementary Basic Education programme.
Budget execution
The Executive Director, Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, noted the financing architecture of Ghana’s education system does not prioritise basic education but secondary education.
This, he said gives girls at the secondary level more support to remain in school and complete than at the basic level.
“If you look at the envelope of the Ministry of Education, there is compensation (salaries), and discretionary budget that is unrestricted and could be touched. An analysis of the education budget shows that only about five per cent (5%) of the discretionary budget comes to basic education, it was previously 19 percent, and it has been coming down yearly.”
He added that the way public resources are deployed to finance education determines the extent to which the delivery of education will be possible and will include the needs of the vulnerable.
“Until we can pursue government to prioritise gender-responsive budgeting, we will talk and talk and will not see any improvement,” he said.
The Head of Programmes at STAR-Ghana Foundation, Eunice Racheal Agbenyadzi, beyond advocating for increased budget allocation, civil society should also be interested in actual disbursement, which has shown to be poor (more than 10% variance between allocated and disbursed).
“We need collective influencing on education budget to see increases in the areas of capital expenditure, and goods and services, but also to follow disbursements. We need stronger coalition as civil society to demand this,” she said.
The forum
The forum was organised by STAR-Ghana Foundation and partners under the Gender Rights and Empowerment Programme (G-REP) with funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK government.
The FCDO on G-REP seeks to contribute to increasing girls’ education, promoting women’s voices, political participation and addressing issues of violence and abuse against women and girls.
Fact sheet
Situation of girls’ education in Ghana
- Ghana has reached gender parity in enrolment, but regional disparities exist, particularly as junior and secondary high levels.
- Girls are still underrepresented in some subjects particularly Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
- Water, sanitation and hygiene related challenges are still persistent
- Girls in school pregnancy causing drop-out among girls is still high
- High number of out of schoolgirls (289,456) ActionAid (2020); 244,731 girls aged 6-14 (GSS 2022)
- Lack of gender disaggregated education data poses a challenge for adequate planning towards the promotion of girls’ education.
