Project Background:
Article 25 sub-section 1b of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana states that “Secondary education in its different forms including technical and vocational education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular, by the progressive introduction of free education”. Also, Goal 4, Target 1 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also states that “By 2030, all boys and girls complete free equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes”. It is in response to these tenets that the government of Ghana has initiated the Free Senior High School programme as a response to fulfilling these national and global mandates.

Over the last few decades, the government of Ghana had implemented many different interventions aimed at equitable access and participation in secondary education. These include:

• Free secondary education for students from the north;
• Free secondary education for students of northern extraction;
• Cocoa board scholarship/bursaries;
• Merit scholarships for secondary schools;
• Hardship scholarships;
• Senior high school subsidy;
• Progressively free secondary education programme.

These interventions have come with mixed results. Success has often been linked to the successful implementation of the project. However, it is not enough to simply implement programmes and projects and conclude that successful implementation is equivalent to actual improvements or achievement of intended outcomes and goals.
 
Project Description:
The Making Free SHS Work for All project aims to generate reliable, accurate and valid evidence which will first of all be used to guide the implementation of the free SHS policy and secondly advocate for higher public spending on educational needs.  This will ensure that the free SHS policy and its components are fully implemented and where there are gaps the feedback loop will assist the Ministry of Education to have corrective measures.
The above aims will be achieved by establishing a framework that seeks to work closely with civil society, citizens, sector agencies to support government in ensuring smooth implementation of the FREE SHS programme. 

Project Objectives and Activities:

1. Specific Objective # 1 - Increase funding allocation, timeliness and functionality of the Free SHS program.
   1. Facilitate government/citizens interface meetings at selected district and regional levels to synthesis and share research findings to be used for advocacy purposes.
   2. Develop advocacy materials to enable district, regional and country level structures engage effectively in advocacy, using skills acquired from the various trainings that would be provided by VPWA.
   3. Track commitments made by duty bearers/service providers/government agents during interface meetings.
   4. Conduct research into how funds from central government to schools are managed and used in accordance with given guidelines or not. 
       
2. Specific Objective # 2 - Increase citizen’s participation in the implementation of the Free SHS program
   1. Use media to educate people on the Fee SHS Programme to enable them participate in monitoring the implementation of the programme.
   2. Create a Mobile application and Web Portal to enable citizens share information, as well, access various reports on Free SHS from stakeholders. 
   3. Create a Hotline to receive feedback through voice and Short Message Service (SMS) from citizens on Free SHS programme implementation.
       
3. Specific Objective # 3 - Ensure project monitoring and learning to improve implementation of Free SHS Programme.
   1. Review management and administrative procedures and processes put in place by the government to implement the Free SHS programme.
   2. Develop a management information system (MIS) and geographic information system (GIS) to monitor the project
   3. Provide M&E orientation and capacity building for project stakeholders to monitor project activities
   4. Organize learning and reflection events
   5. Document knowledge asset
   6. Conduct termly visits to selected schools to assess implementation of the Free SHS programme