EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF THE FREE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL POLICY IN GHANA

In 2017, the Ghanaian government implemented the Free Senior High School education policy in order to make secondary-level education readily available to every Ghanaian child. As part of its core mandate, the policy sought to remove cost barriers, expand physical school infrastructure, improve quality and equity and develop Ghanaian students’ competitiveness in the global market. In this chapter, we discuss the policy, its implementation and impact from the perspectives of teachers, parents and students in light of the aims of the policy. The data, collected by means of questionnaires from four senior high schools in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, show that though there was some improvement in secondary education, particularly with regard to access, there were fundamental issues with the planning and execution of the policy that have made it difficult to achieve the goals of equity and quality. The chapter concludes by recommending some measures that may aid the policy in achieving its goals.