An overview of Ghana’s educational system and its implication for educational equity

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to assess how Ghana’s educational system is promoting educational equity. In terms of data collection, the study relied on secondary sources whilst Scott’s goals of educational equity served as the theoretical basis for data analysis. The results show marked disparities in Ghana’s educational system that manifest in terms of gender, geographic location, and income levels. In the area of gender, the results show that gender parity worsens as the educational level increases. This fuels the variations in literacy rates between the male and female population in Ghana. In terms of geographic location, a performance gap was observed between urban and rural Ghana, which could be explained by the uneven distribution of educational facilities and resources. It was further observed that the current educational system is skewed more towards formal academic development to the neglect of vocational and technical training, especially in the informal sector. To address this form of educational inequity, policies should be put in place to expand Ghana’s educational system to areas such as sports development, the creative arts, vocational, and technical education.

Introduction

Good quality education has implication on reducing poverty and income disparity among the global population (Serneels, Beegle, & Dillon, 2017; Vila, 2000). The net-returns on investments in education is noted to contribute significantly to development (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2009; Becker 2002; Becker, 1975; McMahon 2009; Stacey, 1998). Governments have thus shown commitment towards expanding and ensuring access to formal education in the quest for sustainable development. Access to education is generally accepted to be a ‘right’ (Christie, 2010; De Sas Kropiwnicki, Elphick, & Elphick, 2014; UNESCO, 2014; 2011b), which is rationalized by the enlightenment philosophy and formations of modernity (Christie, 2010). This right is asserted in a myriad of international treaties (e.g. Millennium Development Goal 2 and Sustainable Development Goal 4), and has been affirmed by both legally binding and non-binding instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Bill of Human rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNESCO, 2017, 2014). Good quality education, which is equitable, therefore has implication on reducing poverty and income disparity among the global population (OECD, 2008; Opoku-Asare & Siaw, 2015; Serneels et al., 2017).

Educational equity describes the situation where all students have access to similar resources and treated equally (Center for Public Education, 2016; Christie, 2010). This notion however ‘defeats’ the growing debates on shifting away from equality and focusing rather on ‘equity’, where individuals should rather be treated based on individual needs. This is because, the differences in learning outcomes may depend on individual differences in ability and motivation, as well as the type of background one comes from and the type of resources one has access to. Hence, the call for educational equity – fairness and inclusion (UNESCO, 2017, p. 17).

Sociological research in education over decades, from works of Husen in 1960s, has confirmed that simply avoiding discrimination may not be enough to enable students who have ‘unequal platforms’ to achieve results (Crahay, 2000). Hence, making equity different from equality. Following Jacob and Holsinger (2008, p.4), equality is ‘the state of being equal in terms of quantity, rank, status, value or degree’; while equity ‘considers the social justice ramifiations of education in relation to the fairness, justness and impartiality of its distribution at all levels or educational sub-sectors’. Equity is thus taken to mean that a distribution is fair or justified to develop one’s aptitudes and personality rather than equal education for all (UNICEF, 2010) and providing high-quality education and learning opportunities for students of different backgrounds.

Similar to other African countries such as Kenya and South Africa (see Caucutt & Kumar, 2007; Engelbrecht, Nel, Smit, & Van Deventer, 2016; Maruatona, 2008; Odhiambo, 2010; Oketch & Ngware, 2012; Oketch & Rolleston, 2007; Wilson-Strydom & Okkolin, 2016), Ghana’s educational system aims at delivering quality education to all regardless of ethnic, talent or skills, religion and/or income differences (Ministry of Education, 2013). Despite efforts to achieve educational equity over the years, marked disparities exist between rural and urban populations and gender; where school children in urban Ghana have more improved access to formal education and perform better, compared to their counterparts in rural Ghana (Etsey et al., 2009; Ghana Statistical Service, 2014; Hugo, 2012; Koinzer, Nikolai, & Waldow, 2017). Earlier studies (see Agbenyega, 2011; Akyeampong, 2010; Akyeampong et al., 2007; Akyeampong, Rolleston, Ampiah, & Lewin, 2012; Senadza, 2012) link the disparities to the failure to consider the specific needs of pupils. Important as the studies are for policy processes, equity was assessed in the narrow sense without regard to all the equity goals of education by Scott (2006).

Consequently, the results of the studies have not contributed significantly to formulating holistic and long-lasting educational policies. It is also difficult to come by a single scholarly work which assesses educational equity by considering all the goals of equity as indicated by Scott (2006). The key questions that this paper sought to find answers to were: Does education really work for all? Can education cater for the learning needs of all students, regardless of their background and the socioeconomic environment in which they have grown up? Has the ‘massification’ of education led to full democratization as far as the acquisition of knowledge and skills are concerned? What have been the consequences of opening up education to all individuals in terms of (a) the ultimate level of attainment that students reach, and (b) the differences between individual students and student groups in academic achievement? It is within the foregoing context that this paper inquires how Ghana’s educational system seeks to promote equitable formal access in a holistic manner. The paper comprises five sections, this section inclusive. Section 1.2 provides theoretical framing for the study, whiles section 2 provides an overview of Ghana’s educational system and its equity goals. Section 3 presents the research methods used. Section 4 presents the results of the research. Section 5 presents the discussion and conclusion of the study.

Conceptualizing equitable education

Today, equity, rather than equality, is on the agenda. It is widely acknowledged that the Coleman report in 1968 – referring to ‘Equality of Educational Opportunity’- announced a major shift in the prevailing view on equality in education (Gamoran & Long, 2007). Coleman was addressed by the U.S congress as to whether the weak performance of poor and ethnic minority students could be explained by the insufficient resources given to their respective schools. As such, there was no longer the need for formal equality, rather a shift to equality of performance through equal opportunity. Researchers hence examined whether controlling for student’s schooling conditions, backgrounds offered different students equal chances to attain similar levels of outputs. Van Avermaet, Van Houtte, and Van Den Branden (2011) argue that this ‘value-added’ approach prompted researchers to observe whether schools discriminate between students, or whether certain schooling conditions led to specific inequalities.

Decades of sociological research in education, from the work of the Swedish sociologist Husen in the 1960s onward, have however showed that merely avoiding discrimination may not allow pupils who make an ‘unequal start’ to achieve equal results (Crahay, 2000). Hence, equity differs from equality. Equity implies the distinction between fair and unfair inequalities. Equity amounts to treating pupils in an unequal way precisely because they are unequal (notably because they face unequal starting conditions) (Duru-Bellat & Mingat, 2011).

The foregoing indicates that the normative concept of equity has a long history in religious, cultural and philosophical traditions (World Bank, 2005). The idea of equity is the application of the principle of ‘moral equality’ to the ways in which people are treated by society (Jones, 2009). There exists diverse views on how to conceptualize the principles of equity. Notable among them include: ‘fairness’ in distribution (OECD, 2008; Rawls, 1971); equality of opportunity; treating people with equal concern and respect (Dworkin, 1983; Melamed & Samman, 2013); inclusion (OECD, 2008); and the notion that similar cases should be treated as equally, with similar benefits (or burdens) to be enjoyed (or suffered) by similar people (Jones, 2009).

The initial objectives and expected outcomes of ‘mass schooling or equitable education’ were mainly to develop basic skills such as literacy and calculation skills, supporting morality, and creating loyal citizens (Brint, 2006). Today, schools assume a central role in the process of sorting and allocating people to appropriate jobs (Brint, 2006; Parsons, 1959). Obtaining high educational degrees has become a crucial condition for people to obtain good jobs in society; one of the major goals of equitable education is to award credentials that will help individuals to find work and to increase the number of high-skilled workers modern-day economies appear to be in demand of.

It is increasingly acknowledeged that the educational systems in many countries are highly unequal. This may happen, because of institutional features of school systems, such as early streaming, regional diversity in expenditure or political engagement, unequal access to education and drop-out rates, or unequal access to different types of provider (OECD, 2012). Among OECD countries, people with more equal learning outcomes are argued to have better average learning outcomes. This thus suggests that appropriate interventions in the education sector may have positive effects on both equality and the quality of education (Pfeffer, 2015).

Following from the general idea and ‘principles of equity’, educational equity is considered to be dependent on two distinct but intertwined concepts, namely fairness and inclusion (Ainscow, 2016). The former requires that personal and socio-economic circumstances (such as gender, socio-economic status, and ethnic origin) do not serve as barriers against the achievement of a child’s educational potentials (OECD, 2008); whilst the latter refers to ensuring a basic minimum standard of education for all. The underlying principle is that the aptitudes, learning needs and objectives of children differ; hence, an equitable system of education must be flexible and acknowledge these individual differences (Kumpulainen & Lankinen, 2012).

The indicators for measuring an equitable educational system that is fair and inclusive are wide. The Centre for Public Education (2016) uses well-funded schools, availability of high-level curriculum and qualified teachers, maintenance of discipline, provision of extra academic supports for low-performing students, ensuring access to technology both in school and at home, availability of comprehensive family services and provision of mentorships and trained counsellors to measure educational equity. The Voices for Racial Justice (2016) also uses indicators such as access to opportunities, chance to learn, inclusive community, fair discipline, community engagement, academic achievement, resources and shared accountability to measure equity in education.

Inasmuch as the above approaches aid in critically assessing educational equity, detailed analysis of the abovementioned approaches showed that these are embedded in Scott’s ‘Goals of Educational Equity and School Reform’. On this, Scott (2006) maintains that formal educational systems that are equitable should aim to achieve the following goals: (1) comparably high achievement and other student outcomes, (2) equitable access and inclusion, (3) equitable opportunity to learn, (4) equitable resource distribution, and (5) school accountability (see Table 1). This presents a more robust approach to assessing educational equity within a geographical area.

Table 1. Indicators for assessing education equity

Indicator	Description
Comparably High Achievement and other Student Outcomes	As data on academic achievement and other students outcomes are disaggregated and analyzed, one sees high comparable performance for all identifiable groups of learners, and achievement/performance gaps are virtually nonexistent.
Equitable Access and Inclusion	The unobstructed entrance and involvement in, and full participation of learners in excellent community schools, programs, and activities within those schools.
Equitable Opportunity to Learn	The creation of challenging learning opportunities such that every child, regardless of characteristics and educational needs, is given the requisite pedagogical, social, emotional and psychological and materials supports to achieve the high academic standards of excellence that are established.
Equitable Resource Distribution	The assignment of funds, staff and other resources for equity and excellence, allocation, distribution, sources of funding (i.e., hard or soft; local or state and federal), timeliness and appropriateness of funding (i.e., resources when they are needed, where they are needed) including qualified staff.
School Accountability	The assurance that all education stakeholders accept responsibility and hold themselves and each other accountable and responsible for every learner having full access to quality education, qualified teachers, challenging curriculum, full opportunity to learn, and appropriate support for learning so that they can achieve at excellent levels in literacy and core content areas.

Source: Scott (2006).

These goals are robust enough for the assessment of educational equity given that the indicators used transcend beyond one variable to include social, cultural and economic factors (Demeuse, 2004). On this basis, the current study uses Scott’s (2006) goals to assess how Ghana’s educational system promotes equity.

Overview of Ghana’s educational system and its equity goals

Ghana’s current education system has its roots in its political past. The educational system during the colonial era was aimed at enhancing the activities of Christian Missionaries, educating the children of European traders and sustaining the machinery of colonial government (Akyeampong et al., 2007). However, less than a decade to independence and the post-independence era saw massive investments in formal education to propel Ghana towards socio-economic development. For instance, the 1951 Accelerated Development Plan in Ghana, which recognized the enlightenment philosophy and formations on modernity, emphasized the use of education as a tool for accelerating the implementation of government policies and programs towards economic stability (Agyeman et al., 2000).

Equitable access to education was a key objective in meeting the aim of economic stability. Consequently, free-compulsory primary and middle school education was introduced in 1960 (Akyeampong et al., 2007). It sought to among others promote spatial equity by building schools in many communities regardless of the geographical location. A special scholarship programme was also established for students in the Northern part of Ghana (noted to be the most deprived area in the country) to eliminate the effects of economic barriers on access to formal education. These interventions were observed to have minimized the effects of economic and spatial barriers to education (McWilliam & Kwamena-Poh, 1975) but compromised the quality of education due to management constraints owing to the massive expansion in infrastructure (Akyeampong et al. 2007; Akyeampong, 2008).

In response to the ‘expansion-quality dilemma’, a new educational Act was introduced in 1961. It transferred the responsibility for expanding primary education to local educational authorities with the aim of addressing the quality concerns that emerged from the rapid expansion of the educational infrastructure (Akyeampong, 2008). Furthermore, the Kwapong Review Committee was constituted in 1966 to investigate the worsening quality and recommend reforms to address the problem. The Committee recommended the introduction of a ten-year basic education with a break in the eighth year for selecting qualified candidates for secondary education. Candidates who were not selected went on to complete two years continuation classes with an emphasis on pre-vocational education (Akyeampong, 2008). These efforts were to ensure equitable access to formal education and training for all.

The plethora of challenges of Ghana’s educational system (see Ministry of Education, 1999; Donge, 2003; World Bank, 2004; Wilson & Samuel, 2013) resulted in the establishment of the Dzobo Committee in the mid-1970s to provide the required reforms to promote equity. The Committee proposed: (1) a change in the structure of the pre-tertiary educational system from 17 to 12 years, (2) an increase in teaching hours, (3) a discontinuation of the engagement of untrained teachers and d) effective and efficient planning and management of the educational system (Wilson & Samuel, 2013). The Dzobo Committee also emphasized vocational and technical subjects at the Junior Secondary School level to make education more work-oriented (Akyeampong, 2008). To improve enrolment and retention, the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) was also introduced in 1996. It sought to ensure that all children of school going age were in school by 2005 (Wilson & Samuel, 2013).

The efforts to reform Ghana’s educational system were awakened in 2002 when it was realized that Ghana’s goal of ensuring equitable access to higher level education was compromised by the high failure rate in the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination. Consequently, the Anamuah–Mensah Committee was established in 2002 to recommend the way forward; specifically, to review the entire educational system in Ghana. Based on its recommendations, the Senior High School concept was borne, which extended the duration of secondary education from three to four years. Investments in infrastructure also increased to accommodate the rising student population. The duration for Senior High School was, however, reverted to three years and has remained so since 2009. Currently, the educational system comprises six years of primary education, three years of Junior High School education and three years of Senior High School education.

Despite reverting the duration of secondary education from four to three years, equity goals have been pursued evident in the introduction of the Comprehensive Free Public Senior High School policy in 2017. Under this policy, all Senior High School Students are exempted from the payment of fees regardless of their economic standing. This is to give an opportunity to students who would otherwise discontinue formal education due to their inability to finance their education. These students are also fed while in school to ensure their retention. An estimated total amount of GH¢ 1.2 billion (comprising GH¢ 188 million from Government of Ghana and GH¢ 200 million from Ghana’s oil revenue) is budgeted to finance the policy in 2017 (Ministry of Finance, 2017). Other policies and other interventions that are introduced to achieve quality and equitable education include: (1) the Education Strategic Plan 2010–2020, (2) the Information and Communication Technology in Education Policy 2015, (3) the Ghana Education Standard and Guidelines 2015 and (4) the Inclusive Education Policy 2015. These policies are rooted in Article 38(1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, which states that the State shall provide educational facilities at all levels and in all the regions of Ghana, and shall, to the greatest extent feasible, make those facilities available to all citizens.

From the foregoing discussion, the goal of the Government of Ghana has been to ensure that all people, regardless of gender or social status, have access to formal education towards creating functionally literate and productive population (Ministry of Education, 2012). However, the extent to which the goals of educational equity have been or are likely to be attained remains unclear in the conventional literature. Hence, the purpose of the study is to examine how Ghana’s educational system promotes equity in a holistic manner and make recommendations to address barriers to equitable access to formal education.

Research method

The study adopted a qualitative research approach to gather and analyze secondary data at both global and local levels, on the study objectives. The review focused on books, peer-reviewed articles and reports on educational policies and interventions aimed at ensuring equity. The study was underpinned by the Constructivist paradigm (see Creswell & Plano-Clark, 2007) which allowed the researchers to construct meanings through the engagement with real-world happenings. Secondary data collection focusing on published and unpublished documents provides useful data for qualitative research, because problems or issues identified in those documents can serve as the basis and provide further guidelines for determining the research focus (Merriam, 1998). The use of this technique was deemed necessary in this research, as promoting educational equity, access and outcomes in Ghana are often documented in government reports (development plans and policies). Such documents provided useful information (Pawar, 2004). The approach further presented a comprehensive summary and an in-depth analysis of all elements of the phenomenon (Neuman, 2003; Sale, Lohfeld, & Brazil, 2002).

Using Cronin et al.’s (2008) step-by-step approach to the traditional literature review, the process of this study involved three main phases, namely: literature search; gathering, reading and analyzing the literature. In summary, the research process began with: the identification of indicators for assessing educational equity); formulation of issue questions and parameters based on the indicators; collection of data based on the indicators, issue questions and parameters based on Scott’s framework; comparison of the data collected with the indicators to assess the extent of educational equity, and recommendations to address identified educational inequity situations. These guided the authors in understanding the phenomenon being studied so as to adequately contribute towards policy formulation and implementation. The methodology adopted in addressing the study’s objectives involved four major steps as discussed below:

Step 1: initial review of relevant documents on educational equity

This paper is drawn from an interdisciplinary body of scholarly literature pertaining to educational equity, with focus on the Ghana experience, and contextualized by the global educational equity literature. An extensive desk-based review of educational systems and policies for ensuring equity across the globe, particularly, the Sub-Sahara Africa was conducted. Specifically, the authors reviewed all available Ghana related educational access scholarly literature published in English. The search engines used for the study were Google Scholar, Scopus database, SAGE and SPRINGER Journals online, JSTOR, Sci-hub database, CABI, WorldCat and Google search. The Ghana-specific education access and equity literature dated back to 2010 and included over 20 sources.

The search for secondary data was guided by search words such as literacy rate, completion rates, performance in B.E.C.E., enrolment levels, and transition rates. The other search words were household expenditure on education, placement in high school, teacher–pupil ratio, and distribution of core textbooks. The rest were existing educational monitoring systems, and factors that affect educational monitoring and evaluation. Hence, the ensured a balance between scholarship and government reports to collect and analyze the data to meet the objectives of this study. This was deemed appropriate considering that available scholarship did not provide all the data required to undertake the assessment. Even those available, sought to achieve an objective not directly related to the aim of this study. As such, relevant government reports were obtained (as primary data) to supplement those obtained through peer-reviewed articles to enable the authors undertake a more comprehensive assessment of the issues.

The authors used a grounded theory approach to evaluate the main content of each article and derive core themes that were the basis for synthesizing the literature. These emergent themes comprise the organizational framework for the rest of this article: human health impacts, environmental health impacts, the e-waste management system, the e-waste worker experience, and policy considerations.

Step 2: selection of Scott’s framework and relevant government reports for analysis

Based on the comprehensive review of documents on assessing and promoting educational equity, Scott’s framework was deemed appropriate in undertaking the analysis as indicated in section 2. Additionally, four key government policies and five reports in Ghana were used together with the framework for the assessment. The selection criteria used were primarily: their focus or objectives, means of implementation and effectiveness of improving educational performance, and promoting equity; thus providing the opportunity to assess a wide range of approaches in promoting educational equity in Ghana. The documents used included:

• polices such as (i) the Education Strategic Plan 2010–2020; (ii) the Information and Communication Technology in Education Policy; (iii) the Ghana Education Standard and Guidelines; and (iv) the Inclusive Education Policy); and

• reports such as (i) Ghana Living Standard Survey reports, (ii) Ghana Education Sector Report, Consortium for Research on Educational Access, (iii) Transition and Equity, (iv) Ministry of Education Medium Term Expenditure Framework and (v) Ministry of Education Report on Basic Statistics and Planning Parameters for Basic Education in Ghana.

Step 3: educational equity assessment criteria

This step involved identifying and analyzing Scott’s framework as the assessment criteria against which the reviewed education policies and reports were evaluated. The discussion section of this paper was structured using the following criteria (equity goals):

• Comparably high achievement and other student outcomes;

• Equitable access and inclusion;

• Equitable opportunity to learn;

• Equitable resource distribution; and

• School accountability

Step 4: analysis of obtained documents (reports and policies)

A qualitative analysis was carried out for the selected educational reports and documents. The gathered data were analyzed using content analysis. Key objectives, relating to educational equity as detailed by Scott’s framework, were identified, and some cases counted. This provided the researchers with the opportunity to determine the relevance of educational access and promoting equity in the documents. Educational access and outcome records from several reports and scholarly articles were used to provide detailed data on the phenomenon.

For the purposes of the qualitative analysis, a list of indicators of each of Scott’s goals of educational equity was compiled (See Table 1). The qualitative analysis of gathered data further involved an assignment of issue questions to each of the indicators in Table 1. The use of relevant data to address the issue questions for each indicator served as the basis for the data analysis. The issue questions for each indicator and the parameters that were used to address these questions are presented in Table 2. A major limitation to applying all issue questions based on Scott’s framework was the unavailability of relevant data on all of the questions. The authors however ensured that the core issues which are required to better understand and assess educational equity are addressed as presented in Table 2. Owing to this challenge, the authors concluded the need to undertake comprehensive surveys on most, if not all, of the issue questions to better assess the state of educational equity in Ghana and other jurisdictions.

Table 2. Analyzing data with indicators, issue questions, and parameters

Indicator	Issue questions	Parameters
Comparably High Achievement and other Student Outcomes	What is the literacy rate? What is the completion rates? What is the performance in the BECE?	Literacy rate Completion rates Performance in BECE
Equitable Access and Inclusion	What is the enrollment levels? What is the gender parity index?	Enrollment levels Transition rates
Equitable Opportunity to Learn	What is the household expenditure on education? What is placement in high school?	Household expenditure on education. Placement in High School.
Equitable Resource Distribution	What is the teacher–pupil ratio? What is the distribution of core textbook by region?	Teacher–pupil ratio Distribution of core textbook.
School Accountability	What are the existing educational monitoring systems? What factors promote and/or hinder monitoring and evaluation systems in schools?	Existing educational monitoring systems. Factors that promote and/or hinder monitoring and evaluation.

The qualitative assessment facilitated the rationale for the formulation of the compiled reports and policies, identification of adopted methodologies or approaches towards promoting educational equity and improving outcomes across the country.

Results

Comparably high achievement and other student outcomes

The attainment of educational equity can be achieved if all students, irrespective of gender, income and geographic locations share and receive the resources needed for positive and better performance outcomes (Center for Public Education, 2016). The framework by Scott assesses ‘Comparably High Achievement and other student outcomes’ by taking consideration of parameters such as literacy rates, completion rates, educational attainment and performance in examination, in this study, the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). These parameters helped in assessing educational equity based on student outcomes.

Literacy and completion rate

The analysis showed that generally, literacy in Ghana is skewed towards males and people living in urban areas than females and those living in rural areas (Table 3). A report by the Ghana Statistical Service (2014) shows that the literacy rate in urban areas (69.6%) is 27.9% higher than that of rural areas (41.7%), depicting geographical disparity in literacy. The analysis further showed that the literacy rate for males (67.3%) is about 20% higher than that of females (46.9%). The trend shows that disparity in literacy rate between males and females as well as between urban and rural areas in Ghana presents a major barrier to educational equity in Ghana, which could be partly explained by the observed variations in school enrolment rates between males and females in Ghana (see Supplementary Table 1).

Table 3. Literacy rate in Ghana

Sex	Urban	Rural	National rate
Male	80.9	53.0	67.3
Female	60.3	31.4	46.9
Total	69.6	41.7	56.3

Source: Ghana Statistical Service (2014).

Furthermore, the results show that gross female pre-school enrolment rate in Ghana is higher for females than males. However, the gross and net enrolment rates at the primary, secondary and tertiary school for females lag behind that of males; implying a relatively lower transition rate for females than males as they move up the educational ladder (Supplementary Table 2). The lower rate of completion (see Table 4) for both males and females at the Junior High School level compared to the primary level (i.e. grade 1–6) explains the general low literacy level in Ghana. For example, the completion rate at the primary level for the 2014/2015 academic year was 94.9% whilst that of the Junior High School level was 63.7%. This gives an indication that most of the students who are'nt unable to complete the Junior High School level leave school without any skill. This could have long-term effects on the human resource capacity for improved productivity and development, and could also be among the numerous factors for the high unemployment rate among the youth in Ghana.

Table 4. Completion rates in basic education

	National						Deprived districts
% Completion rate	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16
Primary	91.6	93.7	112.4	97.5	99.6	101.6	114.2	86.9	94.9	101.5
JHS	66.9	66.8	70.1	69.0	73.5	76.1	59.9	57.1	63.7	65.1

Source: Ministry of Education (2016).

Performance in BECE

Oduro (2000) argues that the BECE is an important parameter to assess the performance of the basic school system. It is noted to be the first external examination for every Ghanaian student and serves as the basis for gaining admission to a Senior High School. Students are assessed based on four core subjects and five other subjects. The core subjects are English Language, Mathematics, Integrated Science and Social Studies; whilst the five other subjects include Religious and Moral Education, Ghanaian Language and Culture, Physical Education, Basic Design and Technology, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Music and Dance, and French (optional) (Djangmah, 2011). The performance of a student in a subject is graded from Grade 1 (highest) to Grade 9 (lowest). Students who perform considerably well therefore get the opportunity to attend the best Senior High Schools and these students have a higher tendency of qualifying to the best tertiary institutions in the country.

The analysis of the students’ performance in BECE from the sampled reports was based on the 10 regions in Ghana (Table 5). Data from the Ministry of Education (2016) indicate that regions such as the Greater Accra Region (44.2%) and the Ashanti Region (26.3%) had the best above average performance of students in BECE. It must be noted that Ghana’s capital city (Accra) and the second largest city (Kumasi) are both located in the Greater Accra Region and the Ashanti Region, respectively, have relatively better educational infrastructure and services. Additionally, the income levels of inhabitants of the two regions are among the highest earners in Ghana. Recent census data on income by the Ghana Statistical Service (2014) show that the Great Accra Region (GH¢16,580.80, equivalent to US$5,527) and the Ashanti Region (GH¢23,119.50 equivalent to US$7,706) were among the regions that had the highest mean annual household income.

Table 5. Distribution of 2015 BECE results by region

Region	Above average(1–3)	Average (4–6)	Below average (7–9)
Ashanti	26.3	55.8	17.9
Brong Ahafo	17.4	55.0	27.6
Central	18.2	55.7	26.0
Eastern	15.9	55.1	29.0
Greater Accra	44.2	46.3	9.5
Northern	7.1	52.8	40.1
Upper East	3.5	42.6	53.9
Upper West	6.3	48.5	45.2
Volta	11.9	53.8	34.2
Western	21.2	61.3	17.5

Source: Ministry of Education (2016).

On the other hand, the three regions in Northern Ghana, namely Northern Region (7.1%), Upper East Region (3.5%) and Upper West Region (6.3%) were the worst above average performing regions in the BECE. These three regions are also noted to be among the poorest regions in Ghana. Similarly, the Ghana Statistical Service (2014), the Northern Region (GH¢12,281.4 equivalent to US$4,094), Upper East Region (GH¢7,240.50 equivalent to US$2,414) and the Upper West Region (GH¢11,977.50 equivalent to US$3,993) were the regions that recorded the lowest mean annual household income.

The foregoing finding shows geographical disparity in performance, influenced by several factors, primarily income. The finding therefore suggests a direct relationship between the educational performance and income levels (Lewin & Akyeampong, 2009). Lewin and Akyeampong (2009) argue that household income is a good predictor of children’s performance and progress in school.

Equitable access and inclusion

The assessment of equitable access to education in this paper was based on parameters such as gender parity index and enrolment levels.

Gender parity index

Gender parity index (GPI), often used by organizations, in measuring progress in education, is conceptualized as a socioeconomic index which is designed to measure the relative access to education of males and females (UNESCO, 2011a). It is hence calculated as the quotient of the number of females by the number of males enrolled in a given stated of education. The recommended gender parity index, according to UNESCO (2011a), should be between 0.97 and 1.03. Ghana’s gender parity indices for pre-school and primary school levels show favorable outcome in reference to UNESCO’s standard. There however exists gender inequality at the higher educational levels. Analysis of available statistics shows an inverse relationship between gender parity and educational level; hence, as one moves up the educational level, the gender parity indices reduce (See Table 6).

Table 6. Gender parity index, basic schools

	National						Deprived districts
Level	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16
KG	0.98	0.98	1.03	1.01	1.04	1.01	1.02	0.99	1.00	0.99
Primary	0.97	0.97	0.99	0.99	1.00	1.01	0.97	0.94	0.96	0.97
JHS	0.92	0.94	0.93	0.95	0.96	0.97	0.91	0.88	0.90	0.93
SHS	0.87	0.87	0.86	0.91	0.91	0.94

Source: Ministry of Education (2016).

Analysis of results from the report shows that the gender parity indices for pre-school, primary, Junior High School, and Senior High School in the 2014/2015 academic year were 1.04, 1.00, 0.96 and 0.91, respectively. This suggests that female enrolment declines as students move up the educational ladder from pre-school through Junio High to Senior High School. Further evidence of the gender inequality in school enrolment is provided in Supplementary Table 1. The implication is that the factors that contribute to female dropout rates at the higher levels of education in Ghana should be identified and addressed in order to promote equitable access to education at all levels of education. This could help bridge the gender literacy gap in Ghana.

Transition from lower to higher levels of education

Analysis of data on enrolment from one educational level to the other generally depicts a disparity in students’ transition and completion rates across the 10 regions in Ghana. With the exception of the Eastern Region, the transition rate from Primary 6 to Junior High School 1 is higher than the transition rate from Junior High School 3 to Senior High School 1 (see Table 7). This shows a significant reduction in the number of students as they transit from the Junior High School to the Senior High Schools. Many students are therefore not receiving the requisite education and training for the job market due to the low rate of transition from the Junior High School to higher levels of education. It should be reiterated that the Junior Secondary School system, which was introduced to provide an educational content that could provide students with vocational and technical skills (Akyeampong, 2008) has not been effective; hence, the need to pay particular attention to ensuring the attainment of the vocational and technical component of the current educational system. Furthermore, limited policy attention has been paid to the informal artisanal sector (such as the training of automobile mechanics) that absorb the students that are unable to move to higher educational levels. These could partly explain the high unemployment rate among the youth in Ghana.

Table 7. Enrolment statistics by region, 2015/16

Region	P6 to JHS1 transition (%)	JHS3 to SHS1 transition (%)++	Completion rate SHS (%)
Ashanti	97.0	75.4	51.3
Brong Ahafo	89.9	60.6	44.3
Central	101.3	71.7	52.0
Eastern	93.8	110.6	66.7
Greater Accra	108.3	41.9	27.5
Northern	83.8	66.9	45.6
Upper East	86.4	70.0	52.5
Upper West	99.4	71.8	53.3
Volta	88.5	73.1	47.0
Western	93.3	42.8	35.1
TOTAL	94.7	67.4	46.4

Source: Ministry of Education (2016).

Analysis of the aim and objectives of the Comprehensive Free Public Senior High School policy in Ghana shows that the policy has the potential in improving students’ transition to the Senior High School. Students, who would have otherwise failed to progress beyond the Junior High School due to financial constraints, have the opportunity to enroll in higher education. Preliminary assessment after the implementation of the policy showed that enrolment has increased by approximately 32% from 300,195 students in the 2016/17 academic year (i.e. before the policy was launched) to 396,951 in the 2017/18 academic year (Ministry of Finance, 2017, p. 142). Access to Senior High School could be further enhanced if the factors that account for the inability of some of the students to pass the BECE are determined and addressed.

Equitable opportunity to learn

Scott (2006) describes ‘equitable opportunity to learn’ as the creation of challenging learning opportunities such that every child, irrespective of his or her socio-economic background and educational needs, is given the requisite support to achieve academic excellence. The ability of a family to provide quality education for their wards depends on the income level of that household (Lewin & Akyeampong, 2009). This however contradicts the principle of equitable opportunity to learn as argued by Scott (2006). Generally, analysis of relevant data shows a higher expenditure on education in urban centers than rural areas (Table 8). This, all things being equal, could partly explain the better performance of students in urban areas in the BECE over their counterparts in rural areas. Further analysis of available data for instance shows that the Accra Metropolis (which is 100% urban) found in the Greater Accra Region, has the highest average expenditure on education. The Region is one of the highest spenders on education as well as among the best-performing regions in the BECE, compared to the three regions in Northern Ghana, where expenditure on education and performance in BECE is the lowest. This supports the assertion of Lewin and Akyeampong (2009)that there exists a direct relationship between the income levels of the people and the performance of the students in the BECE.

Table 8. Average total amount spent by household per member attending school/college in the last 12 months by locality (GHȼ)

	Locality
Item	Accra (AMA)	Other Urban	Rural Coastal	Rural Forest	Rural Savanah	Ghana	Percentage
School and registration fees	475.57	211.69	94.02	74.29	35.41	185.02	40.3
Contribution to PTA	16.16	9.42	6.34	7.67	4.34	9.01	2.0
Uniforms and sports clothes	34.53	19.20	15.94	15.77	11.39	19.20	4.1
Books and school supplies	97.13	46.79	25.48	26.77	11.47	42.34	9.2
Transportation to and from school	71.03	32.11	19.92	14.38	3.67	28.35	6.2
Food, boarding, and lodging	255.37	170.16	106.55	106.78	46.64	143.17	31.2
Expenses on extra classes	64.78	27.47	20.15	17.80	4.51	26.64	5.8
In-kind expenses	9.57	3.68	2.68	6.37	2.88	5.15	1.1
Total	1,024.14	520.53	291.08	269.83	120.31	458.90	100.0

Source: Ghana Statistical Service (2014).

After the BECE, students who meet the required pass are placed into various Senior High Schools through the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS). The pattern of CSSPS from 2013 to 2015 has been presented in Table 9. According to the Ministry of Education (2016), the placement of students in Senior High Schools is based on the availability of places on courses in each Senior High School, the preferences of the qualified candidates, and the raw BECE test scores of candidates. It must be noted that due to limited educational facilities, not all qualified candidates get a placement to the various Senior High Schools. For example, between 2013 and 2015, a total of 8,081 qualified candidates did not get a placement to Senior Schools. Furthermore, due to financial resource constraints, not all the students who get placement are able to attend the Senior High School. These factors discussed inhibit the ability to achieve educational equity from the perspective of equitable opportunity to learn. This is because students face barriers such as the limited educational facilities and financial constraints. The Comprehensive Free Public Senior High School policy could help to alleviate the financial resource constraints but exacerbate the pressure on the existing infrastructure. The pressure on existing educational infrastructure has led to the introduction of the Multi-track educational system in September 2018. There is therefore the need for further studies on the effects of the Multi-track education on Ghana’s educational system.

Table 9. Pattern of CSSPS placement, 2013–2015

Year	Total registered	Total qualified	Total placed	Unplaced after 1st round
2013	391,032	391,032	387,149	3,883 (raw score below 200) Placed in private schools
2014	422,946	420,125	420,125	2820 (raw score below 200) Placed in private schools
2015	440,469	439,091	439,091	1378 (raw score below 200) Placed in private schools

Source: Ministry of Education (2016).

Equitable resource distribution

The distribution of the right type of resources to educational institutions in Ghana that need these resources at the right time helps to promote educational equity. There are numerous categories of resources needed to promote quality education and these include financial resources, availability and conditions of school buildings, human resources and teaching and learning materials.

Conditions of educational infrastructure

The Ghana News Agency (2011) reported the then Education Minister, a total of 5,000 schools in Ghana hold classes under trees. Most of these schools are located in rural Ghana, and this situation hinders effective teaching and learning. According to the Ministry of Education (2016), 2,031 out of the 5,000 schools have been provided with school buildings; implying that 2,969 schools still hold classes under trees in Ghana. This situation adversely affects the efficient teaching and learning and overall student performance.

Teaching and learning aids

It should first be emphasized that the authors were however unable to ascertain how good or otherwise, the textbooks are in how they portray women, people in the countryside, among others. As a proxy and for the purpose of this study, other parameters used for assessing equitable access to educational resources are the availability of core textbooks and teacher–pupil ratio. The availability of core textbooks to pupil was assessed using the core textbook to pupil ratio, which is defined as the ratio of the number of textbooks per pupil (Ministry of Education, 2016). The availability of teaching and learning materials helps in improving students’ performance. Ideally, each primary and Junior High School student is required to have three core textbooks for English, Mathematics, and Science. However, Table 10 shows that none of the schools in the 10 regions was able to meet this standard. Also, there is a disparity in the distribution of textbooks at the primary and Junior High School level with the Ashanti Region being among the regions with the highest textbook to pupil ratio. Therefore, the inequitable distribution of teaching and learning materials could lead to a disparity in students’ performance; thus, hindering educational equity.

Table 10. Core textbook to pupil ratio by region in 2015/16, public basic schools

Region	KG	Primary	JHS
Ashanti	0.2	1.8	1.8
Brong Ahafo	0.2	1.6	1.6
Central	0.2	1.7	1.8
Eastern	0.3	1.9	2.1
Greater Accra	0.1	1.5	1.5
Norther	0.2	1.5	1.4
Upper East	0.3	1.6	1.6
Upper West	0.2	1.6	1.7
Volta	0.2	1.6	1.6
Western	0.2	1.7	1.9
Total	0.2	1.7	1.7

Source: Ministry of Education (2016).

Distribution of trained teachers

The distribution of trained teachers among the 10 regions in Ghana is inequitable (Table 11). Generally, the three regions in Northern Ghana, namely: Northern, Upper East, and Upper West Regions are among the regions with the highest pupil-teacher ratios. These regions are also among the worst performing regions in the BECE. Therefore, the inequitable distribution of teachers among other factors could explain the disparity in the performance of students in the BECE.

Table 11. Teacher indicators for public basic schools by region, 2015/16

	KG			Primary			JHS
Region	%Trained	PTR	PTTR	% Trained	PTR	PTTR	% Trained	PTR	PTTR
Ashanti	73.8	26.2	35.5	87.4	28.9	33.1	94.5	13.9	14.7
Brong Ahafo	49.6	25.9	52.3	67.3	29.1	43.1	85.5	13.9	16.2
Central	69.2	30.4	44.0	80.5	33.6	41.8	89.7	14.8	16.5
Eastern	79.9	26.5	33.2	88.8	27.2	30.6	92.1	13.2	14.4
Greater Accra	90.6	29.5	32.6	97.6	36.3	37.2	97.0	19.0	19.6
Northern	63.6	56.5	88.8	68.5	41.0	59.8	86.9	21.1	24.2
Upper East	56.3	50.9	90.4	59.4	44.5	74.9	83.0	20.0	24.1
Upper West	58.2	54.0	92.9	62.2	41.1	66.2	77.2	16.8	21.7
Volta	66.6	36.2	54.4	80.3	32.7	40.7	89.3	15.0	16.8
Western	53.1	42.1	79.3	67.9	36.8	54.2	83.1	18.4	22.1
TOTAL	65.9	34.1	51.8	78.0	33.6	43.0	89.6	15.8	17.7

Source: Ministry of Education (2016).

School accountability

Scott (2006) describes school accountability as the presence of efficient monitoring systems that will hold educational stakeholders accountable for the delivery of quality education. The monitoring of teachers and students is mostly undertaken through constant supervision. Glickman, Gordon, and Ross-Gordon (1998) believe that supervisors in the educational system help in the promotion of performance in schools. In Ghana, there are two main forms of supervision in the education setting. These are: (1) the District-Based supervision, which is conducted by the Inspectorate Division of the Education Service led by Circuit Supervisors and (2) the School-Based supervision, which is conducted by the headmasters and the teachers (Mankoe, 2007).

The Circuit Supervisors are responsible for external supervision in Ghana. The conduct of external supervision manifests itself in the form of brief visits, familiarization visits, assessment for promotion visit, special visits, follow-up visits and intensive or comprehensive visits (Ghana Education Service, 2002). Despite the importance of supervision in Ghana’s educational system, the literature indicates that the work of the circuit supervisors is hindered by the following factors: (1) inadequate and supply of fuel for motorbikes meant for supervision, (2) lack of resources to maintain motorbikes when they break down, (3) non-payment of maintenance allowance, (4) irregular professional training for circuit supervisors, and (5) late disbursement of funds used by circuit supervisors for monitoring activities (Casely-Hayford et al., 2013; Opoku-Asare, 2006). These factors hinder the efficient supervision of educational institutions in Ghana and ultimately undermine school accountability.

To complement the work of the circuit supervisors, the School Report Card is currently being used to gather information about pupils, teachers, and management at the school level (Ministry of Education, 2016). It is the responsibility of the school to collect the requisite information for the District Education Office to analyze; then, the results disseminated to the schools and community members. This has helped in promoting school accountability among stakeholders. However, the School Report Card system will be more efficient if circuit supervisors are adequately resourced to validate some of the information presented by the schools.

Discussion

Scholarly debates show that educational levels in many countries are highly unequal, due to institutional features of educational systems such as political engagement or regional diversity in expenditure, drop-out rates, geographical locations, unequal access to education and different providers (OECD, 2012). Pfeffer (2015) argues that in countries with more equal learning opportunities have better average learning outcomes, hence the need for appropriate measures to improve the quality of education. It is however further contested that no society will ever reach total equality in learning outcomes; thus, the need to shift towards equity. Premised on this argument, the purpose of the study was to examine how Ghana’s educational system promotes equitable access. The assessment of educational equity was done based on indicators such as comparably high achievement and student outcomes, equitable access and inclusion, equitable resource distribution and school accountability. Based on these indicators, the findings of the study have been presented in Table 12.

Table 12. Summary of findings

Indicators for assessing educational equity	Parameters	Findings of the study
Comparably High Achievement and other students outcomes	Literacy rate Completion rates Performance in BECE	Literacy rates in urban areas (69.6%) are higher than that of rural areas (41.7%). The literacy rates among males (67.3%) are higher than that of females (46.9%). In terms of the completion rate of students, there is a higher completion rate at the primary level compared to that of the Junior High School level. Regions such as the Greater Accra Region (44.2) and the Ashanti Region (26.3%) had the best above average performance in BECE. These two regions are among the highest earners in Ghana. The three Northern Regions namely Northern Region (7.1%), Upper East Region (3.5%) and Upper West Region (6.3%) were the worst above average performing regions in the BECE. These three regions are among the poorest regions in Ghana.
Equitable Access and Inclusion	Enrollment levels Transition rates	The Gender Parity statistics show that as the educational level of students goes up the Gender Parity Index reduces. This implies that the female enrollment goes down as students move up the educational ladder from Kindergarten to Senior High School. Ghana’s educational system is currently producing a lot of unskilled labor. This is due to the high dropout rate at the Junior High School level. With the exception of the Eastern Region, the transition rate from primary 6 to Junior High School 1 is higher than the transition rate from Junior High School 3 to Senior High School 1.
Equitable Opportunity to Learn	Household expenditure on education Placement in high school	The expenditure on education in urban centers is higher than that of the rural areas. Accra has the highest average expenditure on education. It must be noted that the Greater Accra Region is one of the highest performing regions in the BECE. There is, therefore, a relationship between expenditure on education and performance in BECE. Due to limited educational facilities, not all qualified candidates got a placement to the various Senior High Schools. For example, between 2013 and 2015, a total of 8,081 qualified candidates did not get a placement to Senior Schools.
Equitable Resource Distribution	Teacher–pupil ratio Distribution of core textbook	A total of 2,969 schools still holds classes under trees in Ghana and these schools are mostly in rural Ghana. Ideally, each primary and Junior High School student are supposed to have three core textbooks for English, Mathematics, and Science. However, none of the schools in the 10 regions were able to meet this standard. Also, there is a disparity in the distribution of textbooks at the primary and Junior High School level with the Ashanti Region being among the regions with the highest textbook to pupil ratio. The three Norther Regions namely Northern, Upper East, and Upper West Regions are among the regions with the highest pupil-teacher ratios. These regions are also among the worst performing regions in the BECE.
School Accountability	Existing educational monitoring systems. Factors that promote and/or hinder educational monitoring.	In Ghana, there are two main forms of supervision and these are District-Based supervision and the School-Based supervision. Educational monitoring in Ghana is inhibited by resource constraints such as delay in the release of funds.

Results of the study showed connections between poverty, geography, gender, and educational access and outcomes in Ghana. The generally showed that the disparities in Ghana’s educational system manifest themselves in areas such as gender, geographic location, and income levels.

Gender and educational access and outcomes

In the area of gender, the study showed that the female enrolment levels, and by implication gender parity indices, worsen as the educational ladder goes up; a similar made in the existing literature (Arthur & Arthur, 2016; Atuahene & Owusu-Ansah, 2013; Morley, Leach, & Lugg, 2009; Shabaya & Agyemang, 2013). These authors found that female formal education enrolment rate worsens with increasing higher education, contributing to the gap in literacy rates between the male and female populations in Ghana. There are studies which indicate that the barriers to female enrolment and retention at higher levels of education in Ghana encompass teenage pregnancy, child marriage, poor educational facilities, deteriorating socio-economic conditions, increasing cost of living, entrenched attitudes about female education and lack of role models for females (Arthur & Arthur, 2016; Shabaya & Agyemang, 2013). Blackmore and Kenway (1993) further indicate that teachers, parents and school administrators encourage girls to study ‘feminine subjects’, taking them away from ‘masculine’ ones, such as science and maths. They therefore struggle to accommodate them where these subjects become mandatory in subjects as they move up the educational ladder. The implication of this finding calls for measures to address the factors that inhibit the progression of females to higher educational levels if gender equity can be realized.

Income disparity and educational outcomes

Also, the income disparities among the regions may have impacted on the performance of the students in these regions. Additionally, a study conducted by Ansong, Ansong, Ampomah, and Adjabeng (2015) concluded that economic hardships (affected by large household size) as a result of district disparities in education in Ghana affect academic achievement and performance of students in BECE. Financial constraint is noted to be a major barrier to educational access and positive outcomes to most individuals/students in deprived areas (rural) in Sub-Saharan Africa, who cannot afford to pay for education as one moves up the educational ladder (Engelbrecht et al., 2016; Oketch & Ngware, 2012; Wilson-Strydom & Okkolin, 2016). Such individuals, as a result of this challenge, are unable to rise up the educational ladder, realize their full potential, and stand the chance of having better career opportunities and act as agents of change in their respective families and local and global communities. The work of Rolleston (2010) also discuss the effects of low household income on the performance of students in schools. The authors point out that the increasing monetary cost of education in Ghana inhibits children from low-income households from progressing within the educational system, which could ultimately perpetuate the poverty cycle.

The above goes to suggest that low incomes of families in the three regions in northern Ghana and rural areas, in general, could have contributed to their status as worst performers in the BECE. The authors however share the opinion and call of Thomas Jefferson that ‘… the children of the poor must be thus educated at common expense’ therefore requires critical attention towards ensuring that all individuals, especially the poor, have the opportunity to access higher education, particularly at the secondary and tertiary levels. Hence, the ability to acquire quality education should not be based on one’s income level or geographical location, as revealed by the study’s findings. Otherwise, students who come from low-income families or remote communities will be indirectly excluded from Ghana’s educational system and ultimately inhibit educational equity.

Geographical location and educational outcomes

The study also revealed a connection between geographic location and educational access and outcome. The results of the study indicate a gap in performance at the basic level, specifically BECE; between urban and rural Ghana. This could be attributed in part to the uneven distribution of educational resources (such as educational infrastructure, human resources and teaching and learning materials) among the various regions in Ghana (Etsey et al., 2009).

The need for equitable distribution of educational inputs, regardless of geographical location, is underscored by the findings of this study and further makes valid the OECD (2012) urge for governments to respond simultaneously to issues that relate to efficiency and equity in the educational system. Improving access to educational resources could improve educational performance and ultimately the prospects of the students who complete their studies and training. The Comprehensive Free Public Senior High School policy can be helpful in improving transition from basic to secondary education in Ghana. Students, who would have otherwise dropped out of school due to financial reasons, now have the opportunity to continue due to the policy. Other government policy interventions (such as the Capitation Grant and School Feeding program) could be helpful in promoting equity. However, these initiatives do not completely eliminate cost from the educational system, especially at the basic level. The sustainability of these interventions remains unclear since the sustainability of the sources of funds to implement these policy initiatives remains doubtful.

The results of the study also reveal that many students are inadequately prepared for the job market because of their inability to transit from basic to higher levels of the educational ladder. This finding validates Rolleston (2010) assertion that a vast majority of students are unable to progress beyond the basic educational level and the Ghana Statistical Service’s (2010) data that show that about 540,125 children from 6 to 14 years in Ghana either drop-out of school or never entered school. This has contributed to the increasing unemployment rates among Ghanaian youth given that the Junior High School system has not been able to imbibe in the students the technical and vocational skills required to secure employment upon completion (Akyeampong, 2008). To address this form of educational inequity, there is a need for the Government of Ghana to expand the educational system to cover sports development and the creative arts. Also, the government must invest more logistical, human and financial resources in vocational and technical education to help to harness the potentials of all students and also accommodate the high dropout rate in the Junior High School system.

Conclusion

With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Education 2030 Framework for Action in 2015, equity has been placed at the heart of the international development agenda for the first time. In the domain of education, SDG 4 calls on all member states to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ (United Nations, 2015). The purpose of the study was to examine how Ghana’s educational system promotes equitable access to education in a holistic manner. The findings of this research indicated that Ghana’s educational system does not promote equity. There are marked disparities in access to education based on gender, geographic location, and income levels.

The study concludes by suggesting the need for schools to have autonomy over the spending of resources, with guidance for using it in ways that address education quality, specifically for disadvantaged groups. The use of resources at the school level determines whether redistribution has an influence on closing inequity gaps. Putting in place robust accountability mechanisms and increasing school autonomy over how resources are spent could have a significant influence on educational access (UNESCO, 2011b). Additionally, teacher education is argued to be valuable in overcoming gender disparity or stereotypes and preparing prospective teachers to develop the skill of understanding the experiences, perceptions and knowledge bases that influence the approach of students to learning and education, in general (Darling-Hammond, 2000). This is to promote learning of all students (Nieto, 2000), irrespective of gender, so as to achieve equity and excellence simultaneously.

This study further posits that development of a nation relies on an efficient educational system where no potential or talent goes waste. This implies that the educational system must make provision for students whose talents are outside the formal educational curriculum such as sports and creative arts. Ghana’s current educational system put too much emphasis on the formal academic development. Therefore, students who do not have the ability and potential to go through this formal academic training have the tendency of dropping out of school. This is a major barrier to educational equity in Ghana. To address this form of educational inequity, policies should be put in place to expand Ghana’s educational system to areas such as sports development and creative arts. Also, the government should invest more in vocational and technical education as well as ensure equitable distribution of educational resources regardless of income status, gender, and geographical location. There is also the need to undertake additional survey on all relevant issue questions and indicators to better assess the state of educational equity in Ghana. These will help harness the potentials of all students and also make accommodation for the high dropout rate at the Junior High School level.

Lastly, the study advocates for measures to connect in-school and out-of-school literacies, where educational systems, aside from ensuring equity, should exploit the real-life skills of students or link up educational activities of students’ outside world needs and experiences. In conclusion, there will be little progress towards the SDG 4 ‘inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all’ unless resources could be redistributed equitably within education systems according to the principle of ‘progressive universalism’ (International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity, 2016). It is therefore important to ensure that no one is left behind in education 2030.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplemental material

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stephen Appiah Takyi

Stephen Appiah Takyi completed his Doctoral education at the School of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, University of Northern British Columbia. Dr Takyi holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Planning specializing in Development Policy from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He also holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario.

Owusu Amponsah

Owusu Amponsah holds a PhD in Planning with emphasis on policy analysis, a Master of Science degree in Development Policy and Planning, Postgraduate diploma in Land Management and Informal Settlements Regularization, Master of Science degree in Development Policy and Planning and Bachelor of Science degree in Planning. His research and professional experiences have been in the areas of policy analyses, urban poverty reduction, and informal settlements regularization.

Michael Osei Asibey

Michael Osei Asibey holds a Master of Philosophy degree in Planning, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Development Planning from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. He is interested in urban poverty reduction, urban green spaces and infrastructure, water security, solid waste management, environmental management and policy analysis.

Raphael Anammasiya Ayambire

Raphael Anammasiya Ayambire holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Development Planning from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. He is interested in urban poverty reduction, climate change and policy analysis.