A social problem or a sacred promise? Explaining the mechanisms driving fee-free educational policy change in Ghana

Explaining policy change has been one of the major concerns of educational policy studies. Guided by the multiple streams framework (MSF), this article aims to explain the specific dynamics of cost-elimination policies at the high school level in Ghana. Through the thematic analysis of interviews, documents, and other resources, we argue that an exceptional confluence of problems, policies, and politics has shaped the Ghanaian educational policy process and generated policy change. Our findings demonstrate the pivotal role of partisan electoral politics, helping explain why political parties, governments, and policymakers shifted towards the adoption of fee-free educational policies. Although the problem stream contributed to the opening of the policy window during agenda-setting and the problem and the policy streams played a non-negligible role in policy adoption, the political stream dominated both stages. Accordingly, the study argues that the electoral interests of political actors were the main driver of the adoption of fee-free educational policies in Ghana. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.