Free secondary education policy and education attainment

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of Ghana's Universal fee-free secondary education policy (FreeSHS) on educational attainment (completion rates). The policy was introduced in the school year 2017/2018, allowing every child to pursue secondary education irrespective of their background. We emphasize the educational outcomes of schoolgirls as they are shown to be at a greater disadvantage when accessing higher education in Ghana. Given the universality of the policy, we estimate a Difference-in-Differences model using variations in the treatment intensity across districts. The treatment and comparison groups are thus defined based on the differences in the uptake rate (changes in the uptake of education due to a price change). The paper draws from a comprehensive panel dataset capturing the demand and supply factors to education across 261 districts in Ghana. The empirical findings suggest that schoolgirls’ completion rate increased by 14 percentage points in high uptake districts, whereas the reform impact is estimated at 14.9 percentage points overall (for boys and girls). In effect, the absorption of education costs by the state serves as a critical incentive for cost-constrained households and an efficient measure for correcting market failures related to access and completion of secondary education for girls.