When the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy was introduced in September 2017 by former President Nana Akufo-Addo, it was heralded as a revolutionary step toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. The policy broke significant barriers that had long stood between thousands of Ghanaian children and secondary education, especially those from low-income households.
Years down the line, its impact has been profound. Families once burdened by school fees have found relief. Many young Ghanaians who would have been left behind now have access to classrooms, textbooks and an opportunity to dream beyond their circumstances. The policy has become one of the most socially transformative programmes in the Fourth Republic.
Building on that legacy, President John Mahama’s administration promised not to abandon the Free SHS initiative but to strengthen and improve it. Indeed, the recent introduction of the “No Fees Stress” policy in July this year marks another ambitious milestone in the country’s education sector. This new initiative waives academic user fees for all first-year students in public tertiary institutions across the country, an unprecedented move aimed at deepening access to higher education.
By all accounts, this is a commendable policy. It reflects a government that understands the economic constraints faced by many Ghanaian families. Every year, over 100,000 students graduate from both private and public universities, a testament to the increasing accessibility of higher education. For many of these young people, tertiary education would have been an impossible dream without such policies.
However, there lies a growing contradiction, a nation investing heavily in education without corresponding investment in job creation. We are producing tens of thousands of graduates each year, yet there are few sustainable structures in place to absorb them. The result is a mounting crisis of educated but unemployed youth, frustrated and uncertain about their future.
This is not merely an economic issue, it is a national security concern. A society that consistently churns out skilled individuals with no place for them in the workforce risks breeding resentment, hopelessness and instability. The vision of free education must, therefore, go beyond access to schooling and it must be linked directly to a broader plan for national development and employment creation.
Education without opportunity is like planting seeds in barren soil. The government’s commitment to human capital development must be matched by deliberate efforts to expand the job market, promote entrepreneurship and stimulate industries that can absorb graduates. Policies like “One District, One Factory” were well-intentioned but poorly sustained. Had this initiative been expanded by the current government, it could have provided thousands of jobs for young graduates, while boosting local economies across the regions.
The challenge now is not whether Ghana can educate its youth; it is what the nation does with that education. The government must reimagine economic policies that align with the growing pool of skilled labor. Industrialisation, digital transformation and entrepreneurship must no longer be mere buzzwords; they must form the backbone of a pragmatic development agenda that guarantees employment opportunities.
If the “No Fees Stress” policy and the Free SHS programme are to truly fulfill their purpose, they must not end in classrooms. They must be part of a comprehensive national framework that links education, skills acquisition and job creation. The success of these initiatives should not be measured only by enrollment numbers, but by how many graduates transition into productive employment or self-sustaining ventures.
Free education is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end, a tool for empowerment, innovation, and national progress. Ghana has laid a solid foundation through access and inclusivity, but without sustainable employment policies, the vision of a prosperous, educated nation will remain incomplete.
The next phase of this journey must be about building bridges between the classroom and the job market.
