Impact of Free SHS Policy on the Girl Child Education
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Impact of Free SHS Policy on the Girl Child Education
Chapters 1
1. Introduction.
Background for the Study
Free SHS in Ghana was introduced in primary schools in 2002, giving all pupils of school age the opportunity to complete their primary education. In 2016, free SHS was implemented in secondary schools with the goal of improving education in public institutions.
The objective was to ensure that all students who completed their primary school would have access to secondary education at a lower cost because some were paid by the government. Though it is referred to as “free SHS,” there are several charges associated with obtaining an education.
Previously, some parents failed to send their children to secondary school, even if public secondary schools were mainly inexpensive, but the situation has improved slightly, particularly for girls, as a result of the new education policy of free SHS. Girls’ education has long been denied for a variety of reasons, including cultural and religious views, as well as family considerations.
The Ghanaian government maintained to fulfil its responsibility to provide free SHS to its residents by providing capitation grants to cover school fees and operating costs on a monthly basis to support the policy.
In 2017, in addition to individual obstacles, there were certain school-related challenges such as the school’s location, a shortage of scientific professors, text books based on student ratios, and overcrowded classes. As a result, it raised the question of whether free SHS will improve females’ education in Ghana (Abagi, 2015).
Recognising the importance of basic education, there has been a global push for more functional and qualitative education through various efforts such as Education for All (EFA) to ensure that the agreed-upon policy is actually implemented.
The objectives include ensuring that all children, particularly girls from disadvantaged homes, have access to a free, compulsory, and high-quality primary and secondary education (mutisy, 2016).
Since independence, Ghana’s government has supported this with the goal of ensuring that every kid has access to education. The implementation was achieved through the 1995 Education Policy, which emphasised increased educational opportunities for all students, particularly girls who had been left behind (URT, 2015).
The government then implemented the Primary Education Development Program (PEDP) and the Secondary Education Development Program (SEDP) to improve enrolment and minimise dropout rates among pupils, particularly girls.
Ghana’s government also implemented a new Education and Training Policy in 2014, emphasising the need of providing free basic education.
In this regard, the policy aimed to increase the enrolment rate of children, particularly girls and children from disadvantaged circumstances, who do not have access to education (MoEVT, 2015).
Two years after introducing a new strategy, the government scrapped all lower secondary education costs and allocated funds to support it. Furthermore, under the government’s Free SHS Policy, all primary and secondary schools have received monthly capitation grants in a ‘timely manner’ since December 2015.
The grant amount for each school is determined by the school’s enrolment rate in that particular year. In 2017, 11,000,000 students benefited from free SHS, with 50% being girls (Human Rights Watch, 2018).
Thus, this study looked at how fee-free secondary education improves girls’ education in public secondary schools in Kumasi District.
2. Statement of Problem
Girls’ education goes beyond enrolling girls in school or other formal learning processes; it also includes ensuring that girls learn and feel safe while at school. It is all about completing their education and acquiring skills that will allow them to compete effectively in the labour market.
Even while their enrolment rate improves on a regular basis, there are no policies in place to keep children in school until they complete their education. They will be able to develop the socio-emotional and life skills required to navigate and adapt to a changing world while pursuing their studies.
Girls who obtain education will be able to make decisions about their own life and those of others, as well as contribute to their communities and the world at large (Aina, 2013).
In order to ensure that girls have access to education, the Ghanaian government, through the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, introduced a new Education Policy in 2014 that reflects the principle of free basic education from public primary to secondary schools.
The policy included various circulars outlining how Free SHS will approach pupils studying from standard one to form four. In this case, all primary school-aged children, as well as those who complete primary education and choose to continue on to secondary education, will do so at no direct expense.
Following the circular announced in 2016, there are more opportunities for pupils to enter secondary education, particularly girls who were left behind after completing basic education.
There are still some indirect expenditures associated with education, but the most of them have been eliminated in order to relieve parents’ obligations on their children’s education.
The circular insists considerably on direct expense of schooling which seems to be huge hardship to the poorest households; as a result girls were disadvantaged when it came to the subject of gaining their basic education.
It had been assumed that the free SHS policy will tackle the problem of enrolment rate of students into different levels of school after the new education policy.
Majority of school girls especially in rural areas are still going long distance before they get to school, because even those public community schools which had been enrolled do not have hostels for students.
Along the road to school ladies confronts numerous hurdles, hence resulting to high rate of absenteeism or sometimes drop out. In most cases their engagement in learning has been very bad because they arrived in school already exhausted owing to long walking distance or domestic duties and even their performances become low, this have been witnessed in most of the public schools (Mbuta, 2017).
However, the association between Fee Free Secondary Education and Girls attainment of Free SHS is not adequately clarified in the examined papers. Also, girls’ enrolment rate to secondary low due to the fact that it entails various expense to obtain it.
As a result, the purpose of this study was to look at how the Free SHS Policy improved girls’ education in Ghana’s public secondary schools, with Kumasi District serving as a case study.
3. Objectives of the Research
General Objective
The study’s major purpose was to investigate the extent to which fee-free secondary education promotes girls’ education in public secondary schools in Kumasi District.
4. Specific objectives.
To assess the enrolment rate of girls in public secondary schools following the implementation of free SHS.
To assess girls’ retention rates in public secondary schools following the implementation of free SHS.
To assess girls’ academic achievement in public secondary schools following the implementation of free SHS.
5. Research questions.
What was the enrolment rate of girls in public secondary schools following the implementation of free SHS?
What was the retention rate for girls in public secondary schools after the introduction of free SHS?
What was the academic achievement of girls in public secondary schools following the implementation of free SHS?
6. Significance of the Study
The findings of this study may be important in the following ways. First, they will raise awareness of the enrolment and retention rates of girls in public secondary schools, as well as their academic success in those schools.
Second, it may raise awareness about girls’ enrolment, retention, and academic achievement in public secondary schools, allowing the government and education stakeholders to take necessary steps to promote girls’ education in Ghana as a whole.
7. Scope of the Study
The study will look at the role of fee-free SHS in improving girls’ education. The study will be conducted solely in Kumasi District, at chosen public secondary schools. It will use girls who were students, DSEOs, academic teachers, and school principals as respondents for the study.
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