Ghana has revealed a mixed picture of achievements and hurdles in its pursuit of universal access to quality education.

This was in a comprehensive review of the 10-year implementation of the Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development (AADPD10) and the 30-year implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD30).

Enrolment Rates and Free SHS Impact

Gross enrolment rates (GER) at the basic school level showed a concerning trend, declining or stagnating between 2017/18 and 2020/21.

However, there was a noteworthy boost at the Senior High School (SHS) level, rising from 55.0 per cent to 63.0 per cent.

This surge is largely attributed to the successful implementation of the Free SHS programme initiated in 2017/2018.

Net Enrolment Rates and Gender Parity

On the flip side, Net Enrolment Rates (NER) experienced a decline during the same period, particularly at the Kindergarten (74.6% to 49.5%) and Primary (89.3% to 78.9%) levels.

Despite this, Ghana achieved gender parity at the Kindergarten, Primary, and Junior High School (JHS) levels.

The gender parity index was 0.96 at the SHS level in 2019/20 and 0.93 at the tertiary level in the 2020/21 academic year.

Completion Rates and Transition Success

Positive strides were made in completion rates at both primary and JHS levels.

Primary school completion rates increased from 100.8 per cent in 2017/18 to 108.6 per cent in 2020/21, while JHS completion rates improved from 75.2 per cent in 2016/17 to 83.1 per cent in 2020/21.

The transition from JHS to SHS saw significant improvement, reaching 91 per cent in 2019/20 due to the Free Senior High School Policy, though it slightly dropped to 85.4 per cent in 2020/21.

Challenges in Proficiency

Despite progress in enrolment and completion rates, the report highlights a concerning issue with proficiency in English language and Mathematics among P4 and P6 students.

According to the National Educational Assessment of 2018, proficiency levels were notably low, with only 25% and 19% of P4 students proficient in English and Mathematics, respectively.

For P6 students, the figures were equally concerning, with 25% and 22% proficiency in English and Mathematics.