Ghana’s biggest investment in the Education sector will come under scrutiny at a programme tomorrow organised by the Centre for Policy Scrutiny (CPS).

The Centre will present a paper that examines Ghana's nine-year experience with the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme, with a particular focus on access, quality, and educational outcomes.

The presentation, under 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.

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 policy's challenges that may not be immediately apparent from enrolment statistics alone.

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The public lecture will feature the Executive Director of the Centre, Dr Adu Owusu Sarkodie and a 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.