Elizabeth CouriSocial PolicyJeff Manza21 May 2014Ghanaian Education and the Voucher SystemFor years, the Ghana Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service have experienced successes and difficulties in training educated people in a country that has just reached middle-income status. These institutions recognize that without proper education planning, a functioning structure and effective acquisition of knowledge and skills, the country will not develop through its own efforts and Ghana will depend on external forces to manage its economy. This is why there is a strong concern that education reaches more people and is delivered with good quality. One of the biggest problems facing Ghana is that, due to the high costs of education and high dropout rates, there are still thousands of children who fail to climb the educational ladder to the tertiary level. The numbers dropping out after every major stage are alarming and most government education policies have failed to address this problem. The highest and most concerning rate of decline occurs between transitions from middle school to high school. For any country, this should be alarming. The reason every child doesn't get into a high school is mainly because they can't afford school or can't get into the few competitive places. This paper seeks to suggest why the government might be better off providing vouchers for students to attend private schools that will complement existing public schools. Ultimately, this may succeed in increasing the number of people obtaining higher education and this may also push quality standards higher. Formal education has been introduced in Ghana (for...... middle of paper...... district offices to also disburse the monthly salaries of teachers, especially those in public schools, through similar government banking institutions such as the Commercial Bank of Ghana. For the government to ensure that the private schools it supports through vouchers uphold the nationally developed curriculum that is designed to express educational solutions to the country's present and ongoing challenges, schools should prepare their students to. take the same tests as those in public schools. This will ensure a good way to evaluate the actual advantages and disadvantages of the voucher system and whether or not, it is a good system for the government to adopt and support. It will also help the government to determine which areas of the country may need further adjustments in voucher allocation and which low-income groups to expand services to..