The Triple Burden of Resource Allocation: Finance, Human Resources, And Infrastructure in Ghana’s Free Secondary Education Policy

Ghana’s Free Senior High School (Free SHS) reform has delivered large access gains since 2017, but the expansion has exposed binding constraints in finance, human resources, and infrastructure, creating a “triple burden” that now threatens quality and equity. This general review synthesises evidence from 2017–2025 across peer-reviewed studies, budget/sector documents, and credible grey literature to examine how budget credibility and release timeliness, teacher supply and workloads, and physical capacity interact to shape implementation outcomes. Financing emerged as the proximate constraint: although allocations grew quickly, in-year releases were irregular, generating arrears (notably for feeding), rationing, and deferred maintenance that undermined day-to-day school operations. Teacher recruitment increased, including hires for double-track, but workloads compressed, subject shortages, especially in STEM, persisted, and large classes constrained pedagogy. Infrastructure expansion did not keep pace; the double-track calendar mitigated seat pressure but reduced maintenance windows and complicated timetables, with mixed implications for contact time and learning. Notwithstanding these frictions, access and equity improved: the share of placed candidates who did not enrol fell, completion rose, especially for girls in high-uptake districts, and scholarship evidence points to durable gains in attainment and women’s outcomes from cost relief. However, ancillary household costs remained material for low-income learners; survey evidence suggests parents would co-pay for boarding/feeding under transparent, needs-sensitive rules. The review recommends a calibrated update: ring-fenced quarterly releases for feeding, utilities, and capitation; a completion-first capital plan to phase out residual double-track; workload normalisation and targeted incentives for hard-to-staff subjects/locations; and means-tested ancillary bursaries to protect the poorest while stabilising non-tuition lines. Spill-overs to tertiary, higher enrolment, pressure on space and utilities, underline the need for pipeline planning beyond SHS. Limitations include uneven infrastructure data and few longitudinal links from financing and capacity to learning trajectories. Future studies should evaluate ancillary-bursary pilots, teaching-assistant models for very large classes, and completion-first capital sequencing.