ABSTRACT
The study sought to examine stakeholder participation in the formulation and implementation of FSHS policy by assessing the stakeholder dynamics and implications on formulation and implementation of the policy. The study observed that various stakeholders engaged in the formulation and implementation of the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy in Ghana entails relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, FSHS implementation Committee, CHASS, Religious groups, significant NGOs and CSO, Heads of various SHS and management of the various SHS among other key parties. The study reveals that roles played by key stakeholders throughout the formulation and implementation of the FSHS policy was to translate relevant concerns of stakeholders into the policy process, create shared motivation for smooth policy process and to assist in discovering critical factors required in the policy formulation and implementation process. The study posits that stakeholder engagement holds numerous implications on the FSHS policy process. The study shows that stakeholder participation allows for a comprehensive approach towards considering key policy gaps and strengths which ensures sustainable policy implementation. The study contends that stakeholder participation enhances commitment, fair representation, ownership and the sustainability of the FSHS policy. The study asserts that the formulation and implementation of the FSHS policy was not immune to major operational obstacles. The study acknowledges the existence of insufficient stakeholder engagement in the policy formulation process, limited nature of commitment by some hidden stakeholders, Unproductive criticism driven by competitive motives/witch hunting/sabotage, Poor capacity in terms of resources, knowledge and skills by key stakeholders to contribute adequately towards the formulation and implementation of the FSHS policy as the main setback preventing effective stakeholder engagement.
The study recommends that continuous training for key stakeholders on the core mandate of the FSHS policy, development of strategic ways of motivating key stakeholders and proactive ways of engaging of key stakeholders are highly uncompromising. The study concludes that instead of the leading stakeholders managing other key stakeholder in the policy process, it will be very worthwhile and more strategic for all key stakeholders to be fully engaged throughout the policy.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
The study seeks to examine the role of stakeholder engagement in the implementation of the Free Senior High Policy (FSHS) in Ghana. This chapter therefore introduces the main study. Specifically, the chapter starts with the background to the study and the statement of the problem. It also contains the objectives of the study, the research questions, significance of the study, limitations of the study, justification of the study in field of public administration and the chapter disposition.
           Background to the study
Traditionally, the role of secondary education has proven to be a necessary avenue through which the citizenry acquire knowledge to advance development within every country. Arguably, both developing and developed country perspectives points to the direction that a powerful case can be made for the expansion of secondary education on the grounds of growth, poverty reduction, equity, and social cohesion. In developing countries like Ghana, the provision of secondary education tends to serve as a useful platform both for individuals and for society as a whole.
Boyer (1983) posits that there is a positive relationship between secondary education and growth of a country. This is predicated on the fact that secondary education tends to cause increases in the individual productivity therefore resulting in an enhanced personal
earning for citizens. At the national level, secondary education plays an important role in
fostering economic growth through the creation, acquisition, distribution, and use of knowledge.
Blakemore & Cooksey (2017) contend that developed countries perspective suggest that the education and training that children receive during their teenage years has long been recognized as crucial to the development of job skills and other attributes that affect the ability to function productively as members of society. In developing countries like Ghana, economic pressures typically force children into the workforce at a much earlier age. Consequently, fewer individuals are well educated at the teenage years to make significant contributions to the economic and social development of the country. Considering the significance of education towards development, Ghana after attaining independence has instituted numerous policy reforms to engender socio-economic development.
Over the past decades there have been a number of educational policies and programmes to improve education access and participation in Ghana such as the Accelerated Development Plan of 1951 and Education Act of 1961, Reforms of the National Liberation Council, One New Structure and Content of Education of 1974, the 1987 education reforms, New Educational Reform of 2007. Capitation Grant, School Feeding Programme, access to functional literacy programmes, education and training for employability for the educational development and sustainability, and national development and recently the free senior high school (FSHS) are all policy perspectives for enhancing education within Ghana.
In order to attain the full aspirations of these policy interventions within the educational sector, it is imperative for the targets to be monitored and assessed through a collaborated manner. The argument is that the role of stakeholders cannot be disregarded as they play a vital role in ensuring accountability in education (Mandina & Chiheve, 2013). For instance, stakeholders have significant impact in education financing (Oseni, 2012), play significant roles in ensuring quality education through promoting effectiveness and efficiency of procedures for quality improvement (Brussels, 2011), improving quality of decision making (Mualuko et al. 2009), improving the quality of educational system (Kamba, 2010) and above all have impact in the design and execution of government education policies (Chinelo, 2011; Odufowokan, 2011).
In light of seemingly intractable and complex nature of the educational challenges, public administrators have shifted toward governance activities that allow citizens and stakeholders to have deeper involvement in the policy making process and the work of government (Bingham, Nabatchi & O’Leary, 2005). Governance models which focus on collaboration and consensus building such as participatory budgeting, citizen juries, focus groups, roundtables or town meetings (Bingham et al., 2005; Fishkin, 1995) create opportunities for citizens and stakeholders to envision their future growth (Myers & Kitsuse, 2000), clarify their own policy preferences, engage in dialogue on policy choices, or bring various groups to consensus on proposals (McAfee, 2004).
In Nigerian context, the 2013 revised edition of the national education policy stated that in order to ensure rapid implementation of education policies for quality education, relevant stakeholders should be involved. This is due to the fact that stakeholders in
education sector are individuals who are concerned with education (Adebayo, 2013), and
as such they play many roles of ensuring that the school system accomplish its specified goals and objectives that are directed at ensuring quality education. In Ghana, the role played by education in economic development is enormous as it serves as a boost to citizens’ capacity to contribute their quota through other sectors of the economy. Consequently, Ghana has introduced an educational policy that seeks to offer Free Senior High School for all secondary school students.
Mensah & Badu-Shayar (2016) argues that in order for a public policy to deliver up to expectation, there is the need for all stakeholders to be involved in the entire policy implementation process. Therefore, it is imperative for research to establish the role of stakeholder agreement in the policy formulation and implementation. It is against this backdrop that this study seeks to examine the role played by relevant stakeholders in the formulation and implementation of FSHS in Ghana.
           Problem statement
There is compelling evidence in the literature that reducing considerably the costs to parents of sending children to school greatly increases access (Appleton et al. 1996; Mehrotra 1998; Watkins 2000; Deininger 2003; UNESCO 2007; de Kemp 2008). The benefits of attending school are mainly long-term and accrue mainly to the child, and not immediately and directly to parents who shoulder the responsibility.
The role of educated citizens in economic development is well documented in the literature as the more educated citizens are, the better the quality of engagement in
national development (Rehkopf et al., 2017). Recognizing this within the broader context
of the financial constraints some children face in accessing education, the Free Senior High School policy has been formulated and undergoing implementation.
In the same way, the need for concerted effort by various stakeholder in managing public sector initiatives has come to the fore in both research and practice in contemporary times. Reed et al. (2010) indicate that, this is against the backdrop that effective collaboration among all stakeholders tends to engender effective, prudent and sustainable management. Owing to the actual and potential benefits of stakeholder engagement in development, various industries have consequently adopted a very good collaborative
governance intervention in their endeavours (Oketch & Rolleston, 2007: Wexler, 2017).
In most advanced countries, the impact of stakeholder engagement in the formulation and implementation of public policies has been well acknowledged for the past five decades. However, developing countries like Ghana have passively concentrated on the need for stakeholder collaboration and engagement in the management of public policies and programmes. Also as a public organization, the Ministry of Education exist to project the welfare of all stakeholders including the immediate and remote environment in which they operate by means of ensuring efficient and effective implementation of educational policies in Ghana. In this regard, stakeholder engagement enhances capacity for resource mobilization, sensitization, policy legitimization and the acceptance of the Free Senior High School among the citizenry. Moreover, it tends to engender smooth understanding among implementation agencies and beneficiaries of the policy at hand (Weber, 2008). Therefore, to achieve optimum support towards attaining this core mandate, numerous stakeholders such as Teachers Associations, Parents, NGOs, para-statal institutions and a broad range of players on participatory and or consultative implementation of the Free
Senior High School is very imperative. Put succinctly, Armitage et al. (2008) contend that a very good stakeholder engagement tend to encourage accountability, transparency, smooth implementation, participation and ownership of the implementation of a policy.
Notwithstanding the overwhelming need for broader stakeholder engagement in policy implementation, studies in Ghana appears to be limited on this subject matter. The existing studies concentrated on other areas such as budgeting, sanitation and waste management, water supply, duration, infrastructure etc. and not specifically on FSHS as an educational policy. This study therefore seeks to examine the role of stakeholder engagement in the implementation of the Free Senior High School policy in Ghana.
  Research objectives
The general objective of this research is to find out the role of stakeholder engagement in FSHS policy implementation in Ghana. To achieve such a broader goal, the study was underpinned by the following specific objectives:
To examine the role of stakeholder engagement in the implementation of the FSHS policy in Ghana.
To identify and assess the various stakeholders that play an important role in implementing FSHS policy in Ghana.
To explore the extent to which stakeholder engagement has impacted on the implementation of the FSHS policy in Ghana.
To investigate the implementation challenges faced by FSHS policy as a result of stakeholder engagement.
  Research questions
In an attempt to address the above objectives, the study shall be guided by the following useful research questions.
What is the role of stakeholder engagement in the implementation of the FSHS policy in Ghana?
What are the various stakeholders that play significant role in implementing FSHS policy in Ghana?
How does stakeholder engagement impact on the implementation of the FSHS policy in Ghana?
What are the implementation challenges faced by FSHS policy as a result of stakeholder engagement?
           Justification of the study and its relevance to the field of Public Administration
The field of Public Administration is concerned with the implementation of public policies and programs. How best a policy is implemented determines the kind of support it elicits from all stakeholders and the nature of impact it offers to the citizenry. Therefore if a policy has the requisite institutional and structural arrangement to champion it at all levels, there is the greatest tendency that all actors and stakeholders shall play active role in the implementation process. Also, the involvement of beneficiaries at all levels of the policy process will propel a smooth implementation process and enhance required support from all stakeholders.
Therefore, this study is relevant to the field of Public Administration in two ways: thus
both in theory and in practice. In terms of theory, the study contributes to the already
existing literature on policy implementation in developing countries. Specifically, the study fills a gap in secondary educational policy implementation as most of the related studies look at implementation of educational policy as a whole. In terms of practice, the study illuminates the need for policy makers, professionals, technocrats and other actors within the educational fraternity to adopt broader consultation and stakeholder engagement throughout the policy implementation process. The research, therefore, has a deep foundation in the field of Public Administration and the results would be relevant to public administrators, policy makers, the general public and other people in authority on best practices for policy implementation.
Scope and Limitation of the Study
In terms of space and geography, the study covers secondary school education of Ghana. The institutional scope entails the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, CHASS, the various interest groups, media houses, relevant civil society organizations (CSOs) in the field of education. The Free Senior High School Policy among other related legal and policy frameworks shall be subjected to rigorous analysis and review. This is to allow for proper understanding of stakeholder engagement in the implementation of the Free Senior High School Policy in Ghana.
Notwithstanding, the study is limited in some aspects which is very common to qualitative studies; the limitations of the study emanate from its scope and the methodology. In terms of scope the study shall use a case study approach which shall take into account only secondary school education to generate findings that will be generalized to the other sector of education in development countries. To an extent, this
may not be a true reflection of other situations in other sectors of the educational sector and several other countries that may not be consciously studied. The study shall also be constrained as public servants conduct demands workers to uphold the confidentiality clause and the oath of secrecy. The idea is that interviewees are more likely to withhold information such as financing stakeholder engagements among others from the researcher. In the presence of all these challenges, this study shall maintain reliability and validity in the study by documenting the exact information gathered from respondents. In terms of methodology, the study shall use qualitative research paradigm. Even though the study shall device the right instrument to solicit for responses with extensive cross- examination of responses given by informants, not many people can be sampled for the purposes of data collection.
In spite of these few challenges, the study shall be conducted in a standard way as pertains to all Social Science research process and so the conclusions and findings will be highly reliable to the extent that several data sources will be resorted to. Juxtaposing such cross-examined responses to the literature; the researcher shall make useful inferences and conclusions that will be significant in examining the role of Ghana’s Free Senior High School Policy.
