Education policy analyst Dr Peter Partey has welcomed reforms to the financing of Ghana’s Free Senior High School programme but has questioned the long-term sustainability of the government’s “No Fee Stress” policy.

Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Friday (24 July), the Executive Director of IFEST Ghana described the decision to fully finance Free SHS through the GETFund as one of the government’s most significant education achievements.

“When the government uncapped the GETFund and is now funding Free SHS 100 percent from it, that is a reliable source. For me, that is a game changer in the funding process for Free Senior High School,” he said.

Partey said concerns about the sustainability of Free SHS financing had dominated discussions within the education sector for years because previous funding arrangements relied heavily on government revenues and petroleum income.

He noted that using the GETFund provides a more dependable financing mechanism for the programme.

However, he was less optimistic about the No Fee Stress initiative, arguing that while government was right to honour its campaign promise, the policy requires substantial reform.

“We have been vocal that No Fee Stress is not a policy that is sustainable,” Partey said.

He argued that the programme has failed to achieve its original objective of removing the financial burden associated with university admission because students continue to face significant education costs.

“The policy itself is not sustainable and it is not achieving its rationale,” he said, urging the Ministry of Education to redesign it into a more targeted intervention.

Partey also questioned the efficiency of paying allowances directly to students regardless of financial need.

“Those of us who teach at the university know that when these monies are paid to students, they sometimes do not even tell their parents, even though it was the parents who borrowed money to pay the fees,” he said.

The education analyst nevertheless praised the government’s decision to release capitation grants and increase feeding grants for special schools, describing both as important interventions for improving access to quality education.

Although he welcomed the increase in feeding grants from GH¢8 to GH¢15 per child, he argued that the amount remains inadequate for schools catering for vulnerable learners.

“We think it should even have gone to GH¢50, but it is still a good improvement,” he said.

Partey also questioned the government’s timeline for ending the double-track system in senior high schools.

He said IFEST Ghana’s analysis suggests that if authorities rely solely on the World Bank-supported Secondary Education Improvement Project to expand infrastructure, the double-track system is unlikely to end in 2027 as planned.

“Our analysis suggests that if they rely solely on the World Bank facility, double-track will not end in 2027—it will end in 2030,” he said.