Educational expansion and inequality of opportunity in Ghana, 1945–1994 cohorts

This study examines whether five decades of educational expansion in Ghana have reduced or exacerbated inequality of educational opportunity. Using nationally representative data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey (wave 3–7), it analyses educational transitions across birth cohorts (1945–1994) through sequential logit models, complemented by cumulative attainment measures. The results show substantial gains in educational attainment, particularly at the basic level. However, inequalities persist at key transitions. Females remain 12.9% less likely to transition to senior high school, while northern students face a 32.9% disadvantage in primary completion. Parental education and poverty exert strongest effects at post-basic levels. The findings support the Maximally Maintained Inequality hypothesis: expansion shifts inequality to higher levels rather than eliminating it, a pattern shaped by Ghana’s colonial legacies, economic volatility and capacity constraints. Policies must address structural barriers, including rural school quality and capacity constraints, which cumulatively disadvantage students across the educational pipeline.