[9] Education indicators[10] in Ghana reflect disparities between gender, rural and urban areas, and the Southern and Northern parts of the country.

[11] Public action in both domains has yielded results judged significant but not sufficient by national experts and international organizations.

[14] The University of Moliyili is one of the earliest learning centers in Ghana established in the 1700s,[3] and supported by funds from the Yaa Naa, the king of Dagbon, who acted as its royal patron.

The Philip Quaque Boys School has produced several notable graduates such as; former Speaker of Parliament, Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi Hughes, former Chief of Staff under ex-President Jerry John Rawlings’ administration, Nana Ato Dadzie, and Oguaa Omanhen, Osabarima Kwesi Atta II.

[23] The school's motto, written in Fante dialect, is "Nyansa ahyese ne Nyamesuro" which translates as "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.

"[22][24][25] After settling in Kumasi in 1807, Muhammed al-Ghamba – the head of the Muslim community of the Ashanti Empire, built a school in the early 19th century.

[29][22] By the turn of the century, Great Britain had gained influence over Ghanaian territories that led to the establishment of the Gold Coast Colony in 1874.

[31] With the support of the British government, missions flourished in a heavily decentralized system that left considerable room for pedagogical freedom.

[35] This sudden expansion was, however, hard to handle; Ghana quickly fell short of trained teachers[36] and the quality of the curriculum (specifically in English and Mathematics) was questioned.

[35] The year 1987 marked the beginning of a new series of reforms: the military coup of Jerry Rawlings in 1981 had been followed by a period of relative political stability and opened the way to broader international support.

[32] The Rawlings government had gathered enough funds from numerous countries and international organizations (including the World Bank) to afford massive changes to the education system.

[39] The return to constitutional rule in 1992, still under Rawlings government, gave a new impulse by reclaiming the duty of the state to provide a free and compulsory basic education for all.

[52] The Guardian newspaper disclosed in April 2015 that 90% of children in Ghana were enrolled in school, ahead of countries like Pakistan and Nigeria at 72% and 64% respectively.

[76] An SHS ranking is established every year by the Statistics, Research, Information, Management and Public Relations (SRIMPR) division of the Ministry of Education, based on the WASSCE results.

[78][79] TVI students usually follow a four-year curriculum, divided into two cycles of two years, leading to awards from City & Guilds, the Royal Society of Arts or the West African Examinations Council.

[46] Tertiary education in Ghana has been notably growing during the last twenty years, both in terms of enrollment and institutions.

Students are admitted based on their performance at the WASSCE – a maximum of 24 points is generally required to apply to a bachelor's degree programme (see "Grading system" below).

[84] There are ten polytechnics in Ghana,[80] which offer three-year vocational curricula leading to a Higher National Diploma (HND).

Facing criticisms, the Bank insisted on the “strong domestic ownership” of the reform and the necessity to ensure “cost recovery”.

[105] Political unrest limited this action to sporadic short-term programmes, until 1987 and the creation of the Non-Formal Education Division (NFED), whose goal was to eliminate illiteracy by 2000.

[106] Other forms of non-formal education are also conducted by the NFED, such as "Life-skills training" (family planning, hygiene, AIDS prevention) targeting adolescents and young mothers, occupational skills training for unemployed adults and civil awareness seminars (on civil rights and duties) addressed to illiterate adults.

[109] The Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) observed that both informal and graduated TVET students struggle to find a job, and then have to deal with income volatility or low wages.

[108] It also tries to frame the informal sector through a National Apprenticeship Programme (NAP)[78] and to strengthen guidance and counselling at the basic education level.

[112] This increasing selectivity highlights inequalities in Ghana regarding education, as women[113] and rural Ghanaians[114][115] are underrepresented within tertiary school students.

The unit tries to tackle the problem at its source, focusing on basic education to avoid high all-girls school drop-out rates from JHS to SHS.

[120] However, women are still underrepresented, for numerous reasons, including hostile school environments, priority given to sons in poor families, the perpetuation of gender roles ("a woman belongs in the house"), early arranged marriages, teenage pregnancy, etc.

[120] Ghanaian students of higher education are predominantly male and wealthy: HE in Ghana is disproportionately ‘consumed’ by the richest 20% of the population.

Applicants can apply for scholarships and take the aptitude test online and be interviewed in their own districts without having to travel to Accra, as was required in the past.

[122] Despite the federal interest in ICT, computer access is very limited and electronic devices are often carried around by staff to ensure that they are not stolen.

The emphasis of the official curricula is on the development of students’ skills in operating ICT equipment, but not necessarily using the technology as a means of learning subjects other than the use of the devices.