Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the Minority Leader, has described the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme introduced by the Akufo-Addo government as the most far-reaching social intervention implemented in Ghana’s Fourth Republic.
According to him, the policy fundamentally altered the landscape of secondary education by opening doors to students who previously faced financial obstacles to have access to education.
Amid the public debate surrounding the programme, Mr. Afenyo-Markin at a Young Commons Forum held at the University of Cape Coast on Saturday, February 21, 2026 said the Free SHS stands out as a unique policy with a defining legacy due to the scale of reach for the citizenry, despite the criticism it faced, likewise every other public policy.
The Effutu Member of Parliament noted that the policy has created opportunities for thousands of families, particularly those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds due to the transformative effects it has had on them.
“The critics can be loud and say all they can about the Free SHS but by far, without arguments, it stands as the most emblematic social intervention of the Akufo-Addo administration. And without subjecting it to any further argument, the most consequential social intervention in Ghana’s Fourth Republic.
“By removing financial barriers at the secondary level, the policy drastically expanded access to education for thousands of students from low income households who would otherwise, would have been excluded from senior high school.”
In 2027, William Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, then President of the Republic, introduced the Free SHS policy as part of efforts to bridge the inequality in access to education to broaden the skills and competitive workforce for the country.
Since its introduction, the policy has enabled hundreds of thousands of students to enrol in senior high schools nationwide, reshaping educational participation patterns and becoming one of the most recognisable initiatives of the administration.
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