A social equity informed SWOT analysis of Ghana’s Free Senior High School policy from 2017 to 2025

Abstract Ghana’s Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy, introduced in 2017, represents one of Africa’s most ambitious efforts to democratize secondary education. By abolishing tuition and related costs for all students in public senior high schools, the policy sought to enhance social inclusion and human capital development in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 on equitable and quality education. Guided by Social Equity Theory (SET), this study employs a qualitative SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analytical framework to critically examine the FSHS policy’s outcomes, implementation dynamics, and sustainability. Data were drawn from academic literature, government reports, and expert analyses, and thematically synthesized to assess distributive, process, and outcome equity dimensions. The findings reveal substantial progress in expanding access, gender equity, and social mobility, marking a significant achievement in distributive fairness. However, these gains are tempered by persistent challenges, including overcrowded infrastructure, teacher burnout, declining instructional quality, and financial unsustainability. Opportunities for improvement lie in targeted infrastructure investment, diversified financing mechanisms, curriculum modernization, and enhanced stakeholder participation. Conversely, long-term fiscal vulnerability and politicization pose enduring threats to policy continuity and quality assurance. The study concludes that while FSHS has succeeded in advancing access equity, its sustainability depends on addressing process and outcome inequities through strategic reforms. The findings underscore the need for a transition from the politics of access to a pedagogical and educational fairness, where equity, quality, and sustainability are balanced to ensure that every learner benefits meaningfully from free secondary education.