The Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, and Parliament provided financial allocations and expenditures connected to the free SHS programme, which were used to analyse government spending for the academic years 2017–18 through 2022–23.
The Ghana Statistical Service’s historical prospectus item prices were used to calculate parental costs.
According to the research, prospectus prices have increased by 38% since the policy’s initial implementation phase. Divine Kpe noted that parents of students enrolled in continuing education reported spending GH4,400 on average per year, of which 40% went towards transportation, 50% went towards breakfast, and 10% went towards books.
According to the report, day students’ parents spent GHC5,507—including prospectus costs—more than the GHS 1,107 that the government spent. A 15% failure rate of candidates to honour their admission in the 2022–2023 academic year was attributed to financial restrictions, with expensive prospectus and education material expenses being important causes.
The report suggested that the Ministry of Education use data from the LEAP programme to design and implement a strategy that targets children from the poorest households in order to address the problem. With this strategy, the government may set aside more money to pay for lower-income students’ entire secondary education. The research also recommended that the Ministry of Finance improve how money is distributed under the programme so that it is in line with goals, plans for execution, and cash flow forecasts.
The Free SHS policy has put the Akufo-Addo administration under growing pressure to review it, particularly because of the policy’s substantial income impact.