Achieving equity and accessibility in the free senior high school programme; the case of Twifo Atti – Morkwa district

Abstract

This study sought to examine how to achieve equity and accessibility in the free senior high school programme in Ghana using the Twifo-Atti Morkwa district as a case. The qualitative approach to research with an exploratory case study design was adopted. Twenty-five (25) participants were sampled using the principle of saturation with purposive sampling technique. The participants includes students, teachers and headteachers of the selected senior high schools and the Director of Education of the district. A semi-structured interview guide was used as the main instrument for collecting data. Data was analysed thematically using the thematic analysis method. The study revealed that, there was no equity in the free senior high school programme in terms of resource distribution in the district. The research concluded that though the free senior high school program is free to students entering secondary institutions, students in the Twifo Atti Morkwa district are not able to access some category “A” schools because of poor grade. The study therefore recommended that the placement system should consider rural folks in the category ‘A’ schools since these students are vulnerable to many educational challenges.