85% of Ghanaians want Free Senior High School maintained – Afrobarometer report

A survey conducted by Afrobarometer, an independent, non-partisan research network has indicated that 85 per cent of Ghanaians want the next government to continue with the Free Senior High School education.

However, 24% of respondents in the survey cited education as one of the top 3 problems facing the country which requires fixing. The highest problem rating for education since Afrobarometer started in 2008. The second highest was in 2019 (14%).

Aside from the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme, other initiatives Ghanaians want maintained are the Planting for Food and Jobs programme (81%), One District One Factory (71%), and the One Village One Dam policy (60%).

The Afrobarometer team in Ghana, led by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), said the team interviewed a nationally representative sample of 2,400 adult Ghanaians in August 2024 with a sample size that yields country-level results, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.

It also said 41% of Ghanaians mentioned unemployment as the most frequently cited problem that needs to be addressed by the government, followed by infrastructure which recorded 38%, and healthcare with 33%.

The report also stated that apart from the 79% of Ghanaians who want the electronic transactions levy (E-levy) to be scrapped, seven in 10 Ghanaians “say they or someone in their household went without a cash income at least once during the previous year, reporting shortages of medical care at 54%, water 44%, food 44%, and cooking fuel also at 42%.

“Ratings of the government’s economic performance are overwhelmingly negative. Fewer than two in 10 Ghanaians rate the government positively on managing the economy (19%), creating jobs (18%), improving the living standards of the poor (17%), narrowing gaps between rich and poor (11%), and keeping prices stable (8%),” the report said.

About Free SHS

The Free Senior High School (Free SHS) education policy is a government initiative introduced in the 2017 September Presidential administration of Nana Akufo-Addo.

The policy’s core themes of access, equity and equality fulfil the United Nations modified Sustainable Development Goals, where member countries amalgamate those themes in their educational systems to ensure adequate learning experiences for students.