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Education in Review: 2025 Marks Turning Point as Mahama Resets Ghana’s Education Growth Milestone

By Life Pulse Daily | Published: December 31, 2025

Introduction

The year 2025 will be remembered as a defining period for Ghana’s education sector—a year marked by difficult choices, honest national reflection, and the launch of a strategic reset under President John Dramani Mahama. When President Mahama and his Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, assumed office, they inherited an education system stressed by deep structural challenges. Years of accumulated debt, weak infrastructure in basic education, unpaid statutory obligations, stalled projects, and unresolved teacher welfare issues had significantly constrained service delivery and threatened the quality and sustainability of education at all levels.

From the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme and special needs education to expired teacher recruitment windows, struggling nascent public universities, unpaid debts to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), and delays in promotions and allowances for teachers, the scale of inherited difficulties was monumental. This article reviews the strategic interventions implemented in 2025 that are resetting the narrative of Ghana’s educational development.

Key Points

Background

Before the interventions of 2025, the Ghanaian education sector faced a crisis of confidence. The previous administration’s policies, while ambitious in scope, left behind a legacy of logistical and financial strain. The core issues included:

• Infrastructure Deficits: Many Community Day Senior High Schools (E-Blocks) remained uncompleted or underutilized due to a lack of accompanying facilities.
• Financial Arrears: The system was plagued by unpaid capitation grants, feeding grants for special needs schools, and debts to examination bodies like WAEC, threatening the conduct of national examinations.
• Teacher Neglect: Teacher trainee allowances had been scrapped or inconsistently paid, and the transition from diploma to degree status for many teachers was not aligned with proper salary placement (the Public Services Commission (PSC) scale).
• Quality vs. Quantity: The rapid expansion of access, particularly under the Free SHS policy, led to overcrowding and the controversial double-track system, which reduced instructional hours for students.

It was against this backdrop that the Mahama administration sought to convene a national dialogue to chart a new path forward.

Analysis

The 2025 approach to education reform can be analyzed through two primary lenses: Stabilization and Strategic Reorientation.

The Ho Forum: A Stakeholder-Driven Approach

Recognizing that top-down policy formulation often leads to implementation failures, the Ministry of Education convened a historic National Education Forum in Ho, Volta Region. This forum was not merely ceremonial; it was designed to aggregate the views of teachers, unions, parents, academics, students, and civil society. The resulting recommendations form the blueprint for the current reforms, ensuring that the “reset” is not just a political slogan but a technically sound, consensus-based roadmap.

Budgetary Prioritization and Human Capital

The government’s commitment is evident in the 2025 Budget Statement, where education received one of the largest sectoral allocations. The decision to allocate GHC 9.1 billion to Basic Education is a strategic pivot. For decades, the focus was heavily skewed toward Secondary Education (Free SHS), often at the expense of the foundational years. By bolstering basic education infrastructure, sanitation, and teacher support, the government aims to fix the root causes of poor performance in secondary and tertiary education. This aligns with global best practices regarding the returns on investment in early childhood and primary education.

Reforming Free SHS: Sustainability over Populism

The analysis of the Free SHS program in 2025 suggests a move away from the “enrollment numbers” game toward “quality assurance.” The double-track system, introduced to manage infrastructure gaps, was criticized for creating “vacation schools” rather than standard academic calendars. The government’s claim of converting 100 double-track schools to single-track is a measurable metric of success. Furthermore, the categorization of schools (upgrading Category D to C, etc.) indicates a deliberate effort to level the playing field, ensuring that students in rural areas receive comparable educational environments to those in urban centers.

Gender Equity and Social Inclusion

From an equity standpoint, the distribution of over six million sanitary pads to schoolgirls is a critical intervention. It addresses the “hidden curriculum” of education barriers: biological realities that force girls to miss school. This move directly correlates to retention rates and gender parity indices in Ghanaian education.

Practical Advice

For parents, students, and educational stakeholders navigating the changes in 2025 and looking ahead to 2026, here are actionable insights:

For Parents and Guardians

• Engage with PTAs: With the reactivation of Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) nationwide, parents should actively participate in school governance and discipline. This is a key component of the new reform strategy.
• Monitor Feeding Programs: Parents of children in SHS and Special Needs schools should stay informed about the feeding grants. The government has increased funding, but local monitoring ensures the quality of meals reaches the students.
• Scholarship Awareness: If your child is entering tertiary education, keep an eye on the Scholarship Authority Bill (once assented). The new framework will prioritize transparency. Advise students to apply based on merit and alignment with national development needs.

For Students

• Utilize the No Fees Stress Initiative: First-year tertiary students in public institutions should ensure they have applied for the reimbursement of facility user fees through the Student Loan Trust Fund. This is a direct cash relief that covers significant costs.
• Focus on Foundational Skills: With the massive investment in Basic Education (JHS/Primary), students in these levels should expect improved learning materials and teacher support. This is the time to build strong academic foundations.

For Teachers

• Regularize Credentials: Teachers who have upgraded to degrees should ensure their documentation is submitted for placement onto the PSC salary scale. The government has cleared the backlog for over 30,000 teachers, but new entrants must follow the correct protocols.
• Leverage Training Allowances: The restoration of the Teacher Training Allowance (GHC 52 million paid) signals a return of support for professional development. Teachers should look out for opportunities for retraining and capacity building.

FAQ

Conclusion

The review of 2025 confirms that Ghana’s education sector is on a deliberate path of recovery and transformation. Through honest diagnosis, historic budgetary method, and people-centered reforms, President John Dramani Mahama and the Ministry of Education have begun rebuilding confidence in the system. By prioritizing basic education, restructuring the Free SHS for quality, and clearing the financial logjams that plagued teachers and tertiary institutions, the administration is laying a strong foundation for quality, equity, and sustainable human capital development in the years ahead.