Education Policy Reforms and its Impact on Educational Outcomes in Ghana

Following the 2016 presidential elections, the Government of Ghana introduced a nationwide senior high school (SHS) reform, known as the free senior high school (FSHS) programme. In Ghana, students enter SHS at a typical age of 15 after making the required grades in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). The policy reform included the following changes.• Starting with the student cohort admitted from the 2017/2018 academic year onwards, all school tuition and boarding fees were abolished.• All students who sat for the BECE, irrespective of performance, qualified to be placed into a public SHS.• Low performing students faced higher chance of being admitted to academically higher ranked SHSs.• Due to the increase in the student population, some SHSs introduced a Double Tracking System (DTS) where the cohort of students were taught in two separate groups.This thesis, therefore, seeks to evaluate these policy reforms, on student access and academic achievement. Specifically, the thesis is composed of three interdependent chapters and answers the following questions:1. To what extent does the Free Senior High School induce more students to enrol and complete school, and who are the primary beneficiaries?2. What are the peer effects of low-ability students in schools?3. What is the impact of the Double Tracking System on students’ test scores?Answers to these questions are expected to provide a better empirical understanding of the policy, as this is essential for delivering equitable and affordable senior high school education, especially in the context of limited resources.