Abstract:
Education remains one of the most important tools for unlocking and nurturing the
potential of a people. It is widely valued across the world as a central factor in the
economic, political, and social development of any country. Following the widespread
adoption of free basic education as a result of global and international conditions and
support, African policymakers are now considering making secondary education free.
To humanists, education is a human right, and so its denial is an abuse of human rights.
Its impacts permeate every aspect of the social fabric and can be felt in all parts of
human life. It is therefore prudent to treat its provision with care and passion.
Educational policies need to be treated apolitically. Collaboration and consensus with
all the industry players is one way to guarantee its quality, availability, accessibility,
and sustainability. As sacred as it is, its policy formulations must be circumspect of the
environment factors, either internal or external: prevailing socio-economic conditions,
value and interest, affordability, and the future of education. This study sought to find
the effect of the FSHS policy on the enrolment, income, and administration of the
private schools in the Volta region. The study employs of a qualitative method with a
case study design. The free senior high school policy in Ghana was rolled out in 2017
across the nation. It is a departure from the progressive implementation of this directive
principle of state policy on education as captured in Article 25(1) (b) of the 1992
Constitution. The study revealed that the policy has negatively affected the enrolment,
income, and administration of the private senior high schools in the study area. It
therefore recommends the inclusion of the private senior high schools in the policy, the
government’s collaboration with the private senior high schools in the region in
providing senior high school education to all Ghanaians, a level playing field for all
players in the education sector, and the government's assistance to the private senior
high schools.
Description:
A Thesis in the Department of Political Science Education, Faculty of Social Sciences Education, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy (Political Science Education) in the University of Education, Winneba
AUGUST, 2022