When School Becomes a Business: Where Should Ghana Draw the Line?

There is a question Ghana has been reluctant to ask. When does a school stop being primarily an institution of learning and start becoming primarily a business? It is not an easy question. A private school is, after all, a business. Someone invests money to acquire land, construct classrooms, buy furniture, provide water and electricity, employ teachers, pay taxes, maintain facilities and keep the institution running. The proprietor takes risks. The proprietor expects a return. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. Indeed, without private investment, Ghana's education system would probably struggle even more than it already does. But education is not an ordinary commodity. A school is not a supermarket. A child is not a packet of biscuits. A teacher is not merely an employee producing units of output. And parents are not simply customers buying a product from a shelf. Education shapes human beings. That is why the private-school question requires something more sophisticated than either condemning private schools or defending everything they do. The question is: Where should Ghana draw the line between legitimate educational enterprise and practices that undermine the interests of children, parents and teachers?

Private Schools are Indispensable

Let us begin fairly. Private schools perform a vital role in Ghana. They provide places for children who might otherwise have no convenient school. They employ teachers. They invest in buildings and equipment. They introduce new teaching approaches. Some provide specialized programmes. Some offer religious education. Some have developed excellent reputations for discipline and academic performance. And many operate in communities where government resources are limited. The state benefits from this contribution. Parents benefit. Children benefit. The private sector therefore should not be treated as an enemy of public education. But private schools also operate within a public education framework.

The Pre-Tertiary Education Act, 2020 requires private basic and senior high schools to meet standards set by the relevant regulatory bodies, operate under regulatory supervision and employ professionally qualified and licensed teachers. NaSIA's mandate is to regulate public and private pre-tertiary schools and enforce quality standards. The principle is therefore already established: Private ownership does not mean private standards.

The Real Issue is not Profit
Profit itself should not frighten us. A school that makes no surplus may not survive. A school that cannot replace broken desks, repair its roof, pay teachers, improve its library or invest in technology cannot provide sustainable quality. The problem is not profit. The problem is what happens when profit becomes the overriding objective. If a school increases fees simply because parents have nowhere else to go, that deserves scrutiny. If it requires unnecessary learning materials, that deserves scrutiny. If it forces parents to buy books at prices they cannot reasonably compare, that deserves scrutiny. If it pays teachers so poorly that experienced teachers continually leave, that deserves scrutiny. If it reduces expenditure on classrooms, sanitation or safety in order to maximize returns that deserves scrutiny. If it turns every school activity into a revenue stream, parents have a legitimate right to ask questions.

The Difficult Truth: Some Private Schools are Struggling Too

But there is another side to the story. Not every private school is making money. Some are struggling. In 2024, the Ghana News Agency reported private-school operators in Ashaiman describing declining enrolment because families could no longer afford private education. Some schools had reduced fees and provided textbooks in an effort to retain pupils. One school reported teachers receiving salaries as low as GH¢300 or GH¢350 a month, supplemented by small payments connected to extra classes. That should make us pause. A school may charge parents what appears to be a substantial amount and still struggle financially. Why? Because there are costs parents do not see. Rent. Land. Construction. Electricity. Water. Security. Sanitation. Teaching materials. Maintenance. Licensing. Insurance. Taxes. Administrative costs. Teacher salaries. Transport. Examinations. Technology.

A school with 100 pupils has a very different financial structure from a school with 1,000 pupils. This is why simplistic accusations about "profiteering" are not helpful. We need transparency.

Follow the Money
Perhaps the most important question is not: "How much does the school charge?" It is: "Where does the money go?" Imagine two schools. School A charges GH¢8,000 a year. School B charges GH¢5,000. At first glance, School B appears cheaper. But suppose School A pays teachers well, has adequate classrooms, provides textbooks, maintains a library, has functioning laboratories and invests in teacher training. Suppose School B pays teachers poorly, has overcrowded classrooms and charges parents separately for almost everything. Which school provides better value? We should not answer that question from the fees alone. We need information. This is why Ghana needs greater transparency in private education.

Parents Should Receive More Than a Fee Invoice

Before enrolling a child, a parent should know the total expected cost.

The school should disclose:

• tuition;
• admission charges;
• textbooks;
• workbooks;
• uniforms;
• ICT charges;
• examination charges;
• transportation;
• feeding;
• extra classes;
• compulsory activities; and
• other mandatory payments.

The parent should also know which charges are optional. This would not prevent a school from making money. It would simply make the transaction more honest.

The Textbook Question Reveals the Larger Problem

Consider the textbook. A school prescribes five textbooks. The parents buy them. The child completes the year. The following year the same textbooks cannot be reused because the school has changed authors or publishers. The family buys another set. Then another. Then another. At what point does educational necessity become commercial excess? This is precisely why Ghana needs stronger oversight of learning materials.

NaCCA is legally responsible for approving teaching and learning materials, and its current system lists approved textbooks and other instructional resources. The next question is whether schools should have complete freedom to prescribe any number of approved materials. Perhaps not. A textbook may be approved individually and still be unnecessary when combined with several other books covering substantially the same material. Approval of a book is not the same thing as justification for requiring it.

The Child Must Remain at the Center

This is where education differs from ordinary business. In a normal commercial transaction, the buyer and seller negotiate. In education, the child is affected by the transaction but is not the one negotiating it. The parent pays. The school provides the service. The child lives with the consequences. That creates a special responsibility. The child's safety must matter. The quality of teaching must matter. The teacher's competence must matter. The learning environment must matter. The psychological wellbeing of the child must matter. The dignity of the child must matter. No business model should be allowed to push those considerations to the bottom of the list.

And Then There is the Teacher
A school cannot be better than the people who teach in it. Yet teacher remuneration in parts of Ghana's private-school sector remains a serious concern. The 2024 Ashaiman report is particularly revealing because it described teachers receiving monthly salaries of GH¢300 and GH¢350 in one school (when the minimum wage in Ghana is around GH¢615) with additional small payments associated with extra classes. This raises a fundamental question. How can we expect a teacher to prepare lessons, mark exercises, supervise children, undertake professional development and maintain enthusiasm when compensation is inadequate? A cheap school can become an expensive school in another way. The parent saves money. The teacher pays the price. The child ultimately pays the price through high teacher turnover, low morale or weak instructional quality. That is not sustainable education.

Increasing Fees is not the Only Answer

The response cannot simply be: "Pay teachers more, therefore increase school fees." Some parents genuinely cannot afford higher fees. The sector therefore needs greater efficiency as well as better compensation. Can schools share expensive facilities? Can several schools jointly employ specialist teachers? Can textbooks be reused? Can digital resources reduce unnecessary printing? Can transport systems be organized more efficiently? Can administrative costs be reduced? Can government provide certain shared services without subsidizing private profit? Can school associations negotiate bulk purchases of approved materials? There are many possibilities. The debate should not be reduced to fees versus salaries.

Public Money and Private Education

There is another question Ghana will eventually have to confront. Should public money ever support private education? There are arguments on both sides. Supporters may argue that if private schools are educating Ghanaian children, targeted public support could reduce pressure on government schools. Opponents may argue that public resources should strengthen public institutions rather than subsidize private businesses. Either way, if public money enters private education, the accountability requirements must become much stronger.

Public money cannot go into private institutions without public standards. There must be transparency. There must be measurable outcomes. There must be proper auditing. There must be safeguards against abuse. And there must be a clear public benefit.

Ghana Needs an Education Compact
Perhaps the country needs to move beyond the old argument of public versus private. What if we treated education as a national compact? Government provides the framework. Public schools provide universal access. Private schools expand capacity and choice. Teachers provide professional expertise. Parents provide support and resources. Communities provide oversight. Children remain at the center. And regulators ensure that nobody abuses the system. That would be a more mature approach.

The Danger of Two Education Systems

There is another danger we cannot ignore. If wealthy families can purchase small classes, experienced teachers, modern facilities, technology, libraries, laboratories and extensive extracurricular opportunities, while poor children are left with overcrowded classrooms and inadequate resources, education can reproduce inequality rather than reduce it. This is not merely an education problem. It is a national-development problem. The purpose of education is to give a child born into a poor family an opportunity to transcend the circumstances of birth. If education itself becomes too closely tied to family wealth, social mobility suffers. That is why the public education system must remain strong. Private schools cannot be expected to solve inequality. Nor should private schools be blamed for the existence of inequality. Government must ensure that every child has access to quality basic education.

Where Should Ghana Draw the Line?

The line should not be: "Private schools must not make money." That would be unrealistic. Nor should it be: "Private schools are businesses, so they can do whatever the market permits." That would be equally wrong. The line should be drawn around certain principles. A private school may make a reasonable return. But it must provide the quality it promises. It may charge fees. But parents should know the total cost. It may choose its educational model. But it must comply with national standards where those standards apply. It may select approved textbooks. But it should not impose unnecessary learning materials. It may employ teachers. But teachers must meet professional requirements and should be treated as professionals. It may innovate. But innovation must not come at the expense of children's rights. It may compete. But competition should improve education rather than encourage a race in fees, uniforms, textbooks and cosmetic facilities.

We Need Better Information
The future of private education regulation should be based increasingly on information. Imagine a parent being able to go online and see:

• School License: Valid
• Curriculum: Ghanaian / International
• Last inspection: October 2026
• Inspection outcome: Published
• Number of pupils: 600
• Average class size: 25
• Teacher qualifications: Minimum B.Ed
• Compulsory annual cost: GH¢X
• Approved textbooks: Listed
• Complaints mechanism: Available

Such transparency would transform the relationship between parents and schools. The best schools would have little to fear. Indeed, they would benefit. Parents would be able to distinguish between schools that genuinely invest in education and those that rely primarily on marketing.

Regulation should not Suffocate Innovation

There is also a danger in over-regulation. If government dictates every detail of how a school must operate, innovation will suffer. A private school may develop an excellent approach to reading. Another may have a strong science programme. Another may specialize in technology. Another may have an outstanding arts programme. Regulation should establish the floor. It should not necessarily establish the ceiling. The floor must be high enough to protect children. The ceiling should remain high enough to encourage innovation. That is the balance Ghana needs.

The Ultimate Test
Perhaps there is one question every school proprietor, regulator and parent should ask: If this were my child, would I be satisfied? Would I be satisfied with the teacher's salary? Would I be satisfied with the classroom? Would I be satisfied with the textbook? Would I be satisfied with the sanitation? Would I be satisfied with the food? Would I be satisfied with the transport? Would I be satisfied with the way fees are explained? Would I be satisfied with how my child is treated when I cannot pay on time? (I do not want to believe it, but it is alleged that pupils are caned in some schools for delays in settlement of school fees). Would I be satisfied with what my child is actually learning? Would I be comfortable if my child’s teacher is an SHS Leaver who has no firm grasp of the English Language? Or a teacher who is indecently dressed to school?

My Thoughts: Education is a Business, but it is also a Public Trust

We should not be ashamed to say that private education is a business. The mistake would be to say that it is only a business. A private school is a business with a public responsibility. Its customers are parents. Its ultimate beneficiaries are children. Its employees are teachers. Its regulator is the state. Its consequences are borne by society. That makes education different. Ghana therefore does not need a war against private schools. It needs a better relationship between private schools, parents, teachers and the state. We need schools that can survive financially without exploiting parents. We need parents who understand exactly what they are paying for. We need teachers who can earn a dignified living. We need regulators who enforce standards consistently. And we need children who receive quality education regardless of the financial circumstances into which they were born. The real question is not whether private schools should make money. They should be able to survive and make a reasonable return. The real question is whether the pursuit of money is allowed to become more important than the purpose for which the school exists. That is where Ghana must draw the line. And perhaps the line can be expressed in one sentence: Profit may sustain education, but profit must never become the purpose of education.

FUSEINI ABDULAI BRAIMAH
+233208282575 / +233550558008
[email protected]