The intended and unintended effects of secondary school fee abolition: evidence from Ghana’s free senior high school policy

Ghana’s Free Senior High School policy, which was introduced in 2017, is the most prominent and comprehensive free secondary education policy in the region. It is therefore an ideal case for studying the effects of free secondary education on students, families and schools. We conducted an in-depth qualitative study of students, parents and school leaders’ perspectives on and experiences with the policy. The findings show that stakeholders generally appreciated the improvement in access, especially for low-income students and those from remote rural areas. However, they also indicated that the policy led to an inflow of unprepared students and exacerbated preexisting challenges related to scarce school resources and quality. Moreover, stakeholders believed that free secondary education reduced student motivation and increased the demand for boarding instead of day schooling. Based on these findings, we discuss options for improving the implementation of free secondary education policies and the Free SHS policy in particular.