The Centre for Policy Scrutiny (CPS) will hold a public lecture to examine Ghana’s nine-year experience with the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme, with particular focus on access, quality and educational outcomes.
The lecture, which will be held on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, on the theme: “Improved Access, Quality Questioned: A Report on 9 Years of Ghana’s Free SHS,” is expected to provide a comprehensive assessment of the policy since its implementation, looking beyond enrolment figures to examine what the expansion in access has meant for students and the education system.
A key focus of the assessment will be the relationship between access and quality, with the Centre seeking to determine whether the significant increase in the number of young people entering secondary education has been matched by improvements in learning outcomes.
A statement issued by the Head of Corporate Affairs at CPS, Mr Kweku Obeng-Adjei said the assessment also seeks to determine whether the expansion of access has been accompanied by the resources, infrastructure and systems necessary to maintain quality education.
CPS is also expected to draw attention to the challenges of the policy that may not be immediately apparent from enrolment statistics alone.
The public lecture will feature, Executive Director of the Centre, Dr. Adu Owusu Sarkodie and Lecturer at the Faculty of Liberal and Social Studies Education of the University of Education, Winneba, Dr. Jacob Oppong Nkansah.
The programme comes at a significant point in the history of Free SHS, with nine years of implementation providing an opportunity to assess the policy’s trajectory, its achievements and areas that require further attention.
The Centre’s approach is expected to add a fresh dimension to the national conversation by placing the expansion in access alongside questions about educational quality, cost and measurable outcomes.
The assessment will also provide an opportunity for policymakers, educationists, researchers, civil society organisations, parents and the wider public to engage with questions about the future direction of secondary education in Ghana.
The lecture will be streamed live on the Centre for Policy Scrutiny’s Facebook and YouTube platforms, with Citi TV/FM as media partner.
