THE POLITICS OF FREE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL POLICY IN GHANA: IMPACTS, REALITIES, AND THE WAY FORWARD

Mumuni Abdul Wahid, Yaro Loveline, PhD

Volume: 10 Issue: 02 2024

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to find out the impact of Ghana's Free Senior High School Program, the realities and the way forward. The key driving force behind this study is the Ghanaian government's aim in 2016 to boost secondary school attendance in order to "achieve equitable access to secondary education" for all pupils in the country. The study used a purposive sampling technique to collect data from authorities and students with practical experience, knowledge, and grasp of the Free SHS policy, utilizing a qualitative and quantitative research approach. The primary data gathering instrument was a questionnaire, and secondary data for the study came from documents and web articles. In five schools in Ghana's Ashanti region, data was collected from students, instructors, and the headteachers. According to the findings of the survey, students, teachers, and headteachers' opinions on the benefits and problems of the free senior high school policy range from agree to neutral or indifferent. Respondents attested to the fact that they agreed that free senior high school has improved enrollment, under burden of parents/guardian and helped the poor to enroll Furthermore, respondents agreed that inadequate Accommodation and lavatories facilities, Inadequate teaching personnel and heavy workload on teacher were challenges. It was however recommended that challenges (inadequate Accommodation and lavatories facilities, Inadequate teaching personnel and heavy workload on teacher) which respondents agreed they existed should be looked into and addressed by policy makers, particularly the government needs to build more accommodation facilities, the government needs to employ more teaching staff and since the number of teachers will increase when many are employed the workload of teachers will decrease. This will on the average also address position of the respondents. Also benefits which the respondents neither agreed nor disagree should also be looked into and addressed accordingly. Policy makers should work around the factors measuring the challenges and the benefits for a better improvement in the free senior high school policy.

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