The “Extra Classes” Boom: WASSCE Failures Drive Demand for Private Tutoring

Ghana’s supplementary-education sector is experiencing a surge, as a wave of disappointing WASSCE results prompts more parents to turn to private tutors, coaching centres and online revision platforms to give their children a second chance, or a first real shot at academic success.

Widespread WASSCE Under-performance

The 2025 WASSCE results have triggered alarm across the country. Core Mathematics, for instance, recorded a pass rate of just 48.73%, down significantly from earlier years. The overall drop means that for many students hoping to enter tertiary institutions or pursue further studies, the usual public-school path is no longer sufficient, at least in the eyes of parents.

A voice of warning came from Stephen Kwaku Asare, a fellow at CDD-Ghana, who described the results as more than “a dip,” calling them “a collapse.” He noted that over 114,000 students scored F9,  a strong signal, he warned, that “something fundamental… is not working in the way we are educating our children.”

Surge in Private Tutoring & After-School Classes

This academic crisis is translating into rising demand for private tutoring. The market for private tutoring in Ghana has been growing steadily,  driven by overcrowded classrooms, a desire for individualized attention, and competition for academic excellence.

According to past research, supplementary private tutoring has been fairly common: a survey once found that as many as 48% of households paid for extra tuition. But now, in the wake of poor WASSCE outcomes, many more parents appear to be prioritizing extra classes as a necessity rather than an optional boost.

Analysts at the market-research firm behind the 2025–2031 Ghana private tutoring market report say that the combination of high demand, rising parental anxiety over exam results, and increased competition for tertiary-entry grades has accelerated growth,  creating new business opportunities in after-school learning centres, online revision apps, weekend classes, and specialised subject coaching.

Why Extra Classes Are Now Essential or Inevitable

The shift is not just a matter of convenience. For some educators and policymakers, extra classes have become a structural necessity born out of systemic failure.

Stephen Adei, former rector of GIMPA, has been outspoken about the issue. In a radio interview, he blamed the poor 2025 WASSCE mathematics performance on teachers’ growing reliance on extra (paid) classes. He argued that many teachers neglect syllabus coverage during regular school hours, preferring instead to focus on afternoon private lessons, often charging around GH¢400 per subject per term. He added that this practice disproportionately disadvantages students from low-income homes, who cannot afford the extra tuition.

Adei was blunt: “What is happening is not accidental. Many headmasters are accomplices,” he said, arguing that school heads often turn a blind eye because the structure of authority does not hold them directly responsible.

In his view, until the system is decentralised, giving school heads or local administrators real disciplinary power, the imbalance will persist: “Nothing will change … those who cannot afford the extra classes are simply not being educated.”

This criticism points to a deeper structural problem: for many students, extra classes have become a lifeline, but also a marker of inequality.

New Business Opportunities: Tutors, EdTech, and Weekend Prep Centres

With growing demand comes opportunity. Entrepreneurs and educators are responding with a variety of offerings. The private-tutoring market in Ghana now includes traditional one-on-one home tutors, dedicated after-school centres, weekend crash-courses, online revision apps, and increasingly, digital platforms aimed at WASSCE preparation and remedial learning for core subjects, especially Mathematics and STEM courses.

The expansion is not just urban: recent trends suggest that tutoring centres are proliferating in suburban and peri-urban areas as middle-class parents strive to give their children a shot at tertiary education.

For many of these providers, the collapse in WASSCE performance is not bad news; it is a new growth engine. As competition for limited tertiary slots intensifies, more parents are willing to pay for what they see as essential “insurance.”

Risks and Consequences: Inequality, Unregulated Market, and Hidden Costs

But the boom is not without downsides. Some experts warn that the growing reliance on private tuition deepens educational inequalities: children from wealthier families get extra support, while those from poorer backgrounds fall further behind. As Stephen Adei put it, unofficial paid extra classes undermine the purpose of free senior high school:

“Those who cannot afford the extra classes are simply not being educated.”

There is also concern about the lack of regulation in the private-tutoring industry. According to a long-standing critique of “shadow education” in Ghana, supplementary private tutoring has flourished for decades with minimal oversight, and there is no national policy to govern its quality, cost or equity of access.

Moreover, for some public-school students, extra classes may replace, rather than supplement, normal learning, if regular lessons are neglected in favour of after-school tuition. In that sense, extra classes become both a symptom and a cause of declining public-school effectiveness.

The Education System at a Crossroads

The recent WASSCE outcomes, perhaps more than any single statistic, have exposed severe weaknesses in Ghana’s education system. But in response, a robust and growing private tutoring industry is stepping in. For parents hoping to safeguard their children’s future, extra classes may increasingly look like the only viable escape route from systemic underperformance.

Yet that shift raises a serious question: will Ghana’s education become increasingly stratified, driven by who can pay for supplemental tutoring rather than who has the talent or drive?

If education is to remain a public good and not become a pay-for-performance industry, policymakers must act. That could mean improving resourcing in public schools, reducing class overcrowding, strengthening accountability for syllabus coverage, and, crucially, regulating the booming private tutoring sector to ensure quality, fairness and inclusivity.

For now, the extra-class industry thrives, but Ghana’s long-term progress may depend on whether that growth is turned into an opportunity for all, rather than a deepening of inequality.