Contribution of Free Senior High School Policy to Students’ Academic Performance and Progression in the Northern Region of Ghana: A Review

This review critically assesses the contribution of Ghana’s Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy to students’ academic performance and educational progression, with a specific focus on the Northern Region. Since its inception in 2017, the FSHS policy has aimed to promote equitable access to secondary education by removing cost barriers, expanding infrastructure, and improving teaching and learning quality. This review adopted a qualitative research approach, specifically employing a systematic literature review (SLR) methodology. This approach helped to rigorously and transparently evaluate, and synthesize existing research evidence between 2017 and 2025 on the contribution of the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy to students’ academic performance and progression in Ghana’s Northern Region. The findings reveal that while the policy has significantly increased enrolment, particularly among students from disadvantaged backgrounds, it has also generated challenges related to overcrowding, underfunding, teacher workload, and dwindling educational quality. The double-track system, introduced to manage excess demand, has received mixed evaluations regarding its impact on academic performance. The findings also highlight improvements in enrolment, transition, and completion rates in the Northern Region but also underscores persistent infrastructural and pedagogical constraints. It concludes with recommendations for a balanced policy reform, enhanced stakeholder participation, sustainable financing models, and expanded support for technical and vocational education to ensure the policy’s long-term effectiveness and alignment with Ghana’s development goals.