Infrastructure deficit to stall SHS upgrades for decades — Eduwatch

Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, has warned that Ghana’s Free Senior High School (SHS) policy will not transform the country’s secondary school infrastructure overnight, stressing that it could take nearly two decades to bridge existing gaps.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, September 27, 2025, Mr. Asare said the programme was introduced with the underlying assumption that “it is better for our students to accept secondary education in dilapidated structures than not to accept it at all.”

He noted that while government is currently spending about GH¢2 billion annually on secondary school infrastructure, competing demands from basic and tertiary education limit how much progress can be made.

“If you look at the trend between 2018 and 2024, what was achieved in terms of investment in infrastructure and expansion in facilities, and the current allocations under Capex vis-à-vis the competing demands from Basic and Tertiary, it tells you that given the current pace… it will take us about 10, 15 years before we can upgrade Kanton to the level of Okuapeman Senior High School. It is going to take us 10, 15 years before we can upgrade Mazano College of Music to the level of Apam Senior High School,” he explained.

Mr. Asare stressed that without a significant increase in annual investment, schools in the lower categories will continue to lag behind well-resourced institutions.

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