Community-Led Monitoring and Evaluation and Its Impact on Girls' Education in Northern Ghana

Abstract

Girls' education in Northern Ghana lags behind national progress, constrained by poverty, cultural norms, early marriage, and inadequate school infrastructure. Top-down monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems often overlook local realities, limiting the sustainability of interventions. Community-Led Monitoring and Evaluation (CLME) has emerged as a participatory approach to strengthen local accountability and improve educational outcomes. This study assessed the impact of community-led monitoring and evaluation on girls' education in Northern Ghana, focusing on practices, data use, and perceived effectiveness. A qualitative desk review design was employed to systematically analyse academic literature, policy documents, and reports published between 2010 and 2024. Thematic analysis, guided by Social Accountability Theory and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, was used to examine community monitoring practices, data utilisation, and barriers to impact. Communities employ a hybrid of formal structures (School Management Committees, Parent-Teacher Associations) and vibrant informal social networks to monitor girls' attendance and well-being. These practices function as early-warning systems, enabling timely responses to absenteeism. However, the impact of CLME is constrained by limited technical capacity, weak documentation, gendered power relations, and inconsistent responsiveness from district authorities. Community-generated data is used for immediate, local problem-solving but rarely translates into sustained institutional action or addresses structural barriers such as chronic poverty. Community-led M&E is a necessary but insufficient strategy for improving girls' education in Northern Ghana. Its effectiveness depends on complementary institutional support, gender-responsive governance, and integration with broader social and economic interventions. The study recommends institutionalising simple monitoring tools, strengthening feedback loops to district authorities, and empowering women within community governance structures.