Professor Martin Oteng Ababio, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, has expressed concerns about the unintended consequences of the government’s Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy.
He argues that while the program has increased access to education, it has significantly compromised the quality of education in Ghana.
The lecturer pointed to the mounting challenges within the tertiary education sector, stating that these issues have been exacerbated by the policy’s failure to provide adequate investment in infrastructure to accommodate the rise in student enrollment.
Speaking to the media during a campaign outreach event organized by University of Ghana lecturers to promote the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) 2024 manifesto, Prof. Ababio reflected on the dual impact of the Free SHS policy.
While he recognized the positive aspects of the initiative in making secondary education more accessible to a wider segment of Ghanaian youth, he also noted that it has placed immense strain on the country’s higher education system.
Prof. Ababio acknowledged that the policy has successfully boosted enrollment; however, it has inadvertently led to a crisis in education quality due to the government’s inadequate investment in university infrastructure.
He criticized the severe overcrowding in universities, including the University of Ghana, where the student population has dramatically increased in recent years, a trend he attributed to the influx of Free SHS graduates.
According to the senior lecturer, this sudden surge in student numbers has not been matched by an equivalent increase in resources.
“The free SHS has helped. But it has spelt the doom of the whole educational system. The number of students that are getting into the university has increased tremendously. Lectures have not increased. The lecture halls have not increased. The residential halls have not increased.
“So we are compromising, and I am a lecturer, we are compromising quality for quantity. In a sense today, if you come to Legon, you enter a lecture hall to find 600, 800 students in one room. That makes it very difficult to reach out to each and every one. How many essays can you mark a day? And how many essays can you give to a student?”
