The ‘NGOisation’ of education reform: The case of Transforming Teaching Education and Learning (T-TEL) in Ghana

Despite the growing recognition of the significance of non-state actors, inadequate attention has been paid to how donor funded projects transition to become indigenised NGOs in developing country contexts. This is particularly important at a time when the traditional role of the state in education provision is being shared among many policy actors, including those with substantial financial and technical resources. Drawing upon the case of Ghana, we demonstrate how developing countries whose education funding depends largely on external sources are subject to increased control through engagement with private actors. At the same time, however, through a process of more ‘localised’ NGOisation, the research also reveals how policy actors within-country can gain greater control over the educational decision-making process and how this may enhance transparency and accountability of education authorities/ministries more broadly. Drawing on a study that examined the global-national/local imbrications of education reform in Ghana, this paper examines how such global-national intersections led to the ‘NGOisation’ of Ghanaian teacher education reform. The paper reveals how through such global-national imbrication, key policy actors, including the British government’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Cambridge Education, key government actors in Ghana and Mastercard Foundation came together to transform a reform initiative into an NGO. The paper examines implications such developments in education policy have on national education policies, especially in developing country contexts. The data also help to reveal the complex links and intersections that position private actors as entrenched ‘partners’ in the education policy space, especially in such contexts. • Explores active involvement of NGOs in education in developing countries. • Identifies conditions making developing countries dependent on external influences. • Explores donor-recipient relationships affecting education provision. • Highlights the agency of the nation-state through localised NGOisation. • Recommends improved accountability and transparency to minimise external influence.