President John Mahama has bemoaned the significant number of qualified Senior High School graduates who fail to gain admission into universities.
He said as many as 300,000 products of the country’s Senior High Schools are unable to access tertiary education.
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“Ghana has consistently missed its Gross Tertiary Enrolment targets, with the rate below 22%—far from the 40% goal by 2030. Despite over 460,000 secondary graduates annually, 55% qualify for tertiary education, and only 35% (161,000) enrol, leaving over 300,000 without access,” the President said in his State of the Nation Address (SoNA) to Parliament on February 27.
According to him, his administration is committed to stemming this tide, for which reason the ‘No Fee Stress’ policy will be implemented to the letter.
“To address this, government is introducing a no-fee stress policy to eliminate tertiary admission fees, which currently serve as a barrier to higher education for some students.
“This will be supported by an enhanced Student Loan Scheme (Student Loan Plus). The no-fee policy will also cover all Persons with Disabilities (PwD) who gain admission to tertiary institutions. Additionally, TVET enrolment will be increased from 11% to 20% to boost employability,” he explained.
President Mahama acknowledged that rising enrolment has strained university infrastructure, causing overcrowding and inadequate accommodation.
Nonetheless, his administration is “determined to expand access, improve quality, and align tertiary education with national goals, particularly in STEM.”
He noted that in furtherance of this goal, “Feasibility studies for new public universities or campuses of existing universities to be established in the six new regions will commence this year. Seed funding for these projects will come from the GETFund to enhance nationwide access.
President Mahama added that, “Government will engage with the existing public universities to identify suitable sites on their acquired lands for the implementation of the private sector participation in the provision of hostels. This will allow more students to be accommodated on the campuses to allow for a better learning environment.
Full Text: President Mahama’s SoNA 2025 to Parliament
