Schools in Ashanti Region
7,051 schools across 43 districts in Ashanti Region, 16.2% of every school in Ghana, against an average of 2,727 a region. 217 are senior high schools and 29% of schools with a stated owner are private. The regional capital is Kumasi. About 78% of people aged 6 and over can read and write (our calculation from Census 2021 counts).
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About Ashanti Region
Ashanti has the second largest population of any region in Ghana, with 5,440,463 people at the 2021 census, just behind Greater Accra. Its capital, Kumasi, was founded in 1695 by Osei Tutu and is still the seat of the Asantehene, who sits in state at Manhyia Palace on Akwasidae, a Sunday that comes round every six weeks. The region covers 24,389 square kilometres, about a tenth of Ghana, and shares its borders with six other regions. The region has 43 districts, so the schools near you depend a lot on where you live. KNUST began as Kumasi College of Technology in 1952 and became a university in 1961. Outside the city, Bonwire is the leading kente weaving town, and Lake Bosomtwe has been a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 2016. Gold from Obuasi and cocoa from the farms shape local work. When you shortlist schools, compare them on programmes, boarding and results using the SchoolRegistry directory.
How the region came about: One of Ghana's longstanding regions. It was not divided in the 2018 referendum that created six new regions in 2019.
What makes Ashanti Region proud
- The Asante Traditional Buildings near Kumasi were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1980.
- KNUST grew from Kumasi College of Technology, which opened in 1952, into a full university in 1961.
- Lake Bosomtwe became a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2016.
- Bonwire has held its own kente festival every year since 1998.
- Kumasi's Kejetia is described as the largest open-air market in West Africa.
Education pride in Ashanti
Founding years are shown only where the sources are reliable and agree. A school without a year here is listed without one rather than guessed.
- Prempeh CollegeKumasi
- KNUST began as Kumasi College of Technology, opened on 22 January 1952, and became a full university by Act of Parliament on 22 August 1961.
- From 1955 the college's School of Engineering ran courses leading to University of London external engineering degrees. A School of Architecture, Town Planning and Building followed in 1957.
- Kumasi Technical University began in 1954 as Kumasi Technical Institute, offering craft courses. It became a technical university under the Technical Universities Act of 2016.
Universities and colleges based here
- Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Kumasi, Public university, since 1952
- Kumasi Technical University (KsTU) Kumasi, Public technical university, since 1954
Ashanti in numbers
7,051 schools on the register, counted by level and owner, against the whole country.
Schools by level
- Basic schools4,809 · 68%
- Junior high schools1,110 · 16%
- Primary schools714 · 10%
- Senior high schools217 · 3%
- Vocational schools72 · 1%
- Kindergartens60 · 1%
- Nursing and midwifery training colleges28 · 0%
- Nurseries3 · 0%
- Universities3 · 0%
- Tertiary colleges2 · 0%
- Technical universities1 · 0%
Source: Ministry of Education school register, 2023/24. Basic schools combine KG, primary and JHS at one campus and are not split in the register.
Public and private
Ghana: 29.0% private. Share is of schools with a stated owner.
Literacy and learning
Literacy is our own calculation from the Census 2021 counts. Learning scores are older, and are labelled with the region as it was then.
Share of people aged 6 and over who can read and write, by region
Ashanti is 78.0% against 69.8% for the 16 regions together. Highest: Greater Accra 87.9%. Lowest: Savannah 32.8%.
Our calculation from Census 2021 counts (3,633,110 literate of 4,657,976 aged 6 and over in Ashanti). Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2021.
Learning figures, Ashanti Region, before 2019
Source: Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, UNICEF and CDD-Ghana, 2013 to 2018. These describe the region with its boundaries before 2019, not today's.
Culture and heritage in Ashanti Region
Festival months are the usual ones, and some move with the lunar calendar. Ask locally before you travel.
Festivals and their usual month
No month we can confirm: Akwasidae.
- AkwasidaeAsante people, main event at Manhyia Palace, Kumasi A festival of propitiation and worship of ancestral spirits. Every paramount chief in Asanteman marks the day, and the Asantehene sits in state at Manhyia Palace.
- Adae KeseAsante people, Manhyia Palace, Kumasi The last Akwasidae of the year. In December 2021 it was marked with food offerings and donations to the poor and needy.
- Bonwire Kente FestivalBonwire, Ejisu-Juaben Municipality Chiefs and people of Bonwire have set a week aside each year since 1998 to celebrate kente.
- Bonwire is the leading centre of kente weaving in Ashanti. According to the Ghana Tourism Authority's tourism site there are over 300 patterns, each with a name and meaning drawn from proverbs, history, chiefs and plants.
- Adinkra symbols, printed on cloth, carry proverbs and ideas such as wisdom and strength. They also decorate the walls of the Asante shrines.
- Villages around Kumasi are known for woodcarving and kente cloth.
Heritage sites
- UNESCOAsante Traditional BuildingsNear Kumasi (Ejisu Besease, Asawase, Patakro and other shrine villages) Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1980. The site is a group of ten shrines built of timber, bamboo and mud plaster, with decorated wall reliefs.
- UNESCOLake Bosomtwe Biosphere ReserveBosomtwe District Named a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2016.
- otherManhyia Palace MuseumKumasi The building dates from 1925, when the British built it for Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh I. It was rehabilitated as a museum in 1995.
- otherKumasi Fort and Military MuseumKumasi Listed among Kumasi's main historic sites by the Middle Belt Development Authority.
The economy of Ashanti Region in a line
Gold, cocoa and cloth are the products the region is best known for. Obuasi is a major gold mining town, Ashanti is one of Ghana's two leading cocoa regions, and Kumasi's Kejetia is described as the largest open-air market in West Africa.
Districts of Ashanti Region
Every district, with its private share and senior high count. Schools with no district recorded are in the region total only.
Cities and towns in Ashanti Region
- Kumasi city
- Obuasi city
- Ejura51
- Konongo36
- Kantinkronu31
- New Edubiase31
- Juaso28
- Aprabon27
- Bekwai27
- Ejisu24
- Kumasi24
- Mampong24
Senior high schools in Ashanti Region
The first ten of 217. The full list, by district, has its own page.
| School | Level | Ownership | District |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abs Senior High School | Senior High | private | not stated |
| Achinakrom Senior High School | Senior High | public | not stated |
| Adanwomase Senior High School | Senior High | public | Kwabre East |
| Adobewora Community SHS | Senior High | public | Atwima Mponua |
| Adobewura Community SHTS | Senior High | public | Atwima Kwanwoma |
| Adu Gyamfi Senior High School, Jamasi | Senior High | public | Sekyere South |
| Aduman Senior High School | Senior High | public | not stated |
| Adventist Girls Senior High School, Ntonso | Senior High | public | Kwabre East |
| Adventist Senior High School, Bantama | Senior High | public | KMA |
| Adventist SHS | Senior High | public | KMA |
All 217 senior high schools in Ashanti Region
Universities and colleges in Ashanti Region
6 universities, technical universities, colleges of education and other tertiary institutions on the register carry a Ashanti region. 28 nursing and midwifery training colleges are listed.
| School | Level | Ownership | District |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Service University College | University | private | KMA |
| Garden City University College | University | private | KMA |
| Ghana Baptist University College | Tertiary college | private | KMA |
| Kumasi Technical University | Technical university | public | KMA |
| Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology | University | public | Kwabre East |
| Neumann College | Tertiary college | private | not stated |
Search universities in Ashanti Region
Schools near me in Ashanti Region
Looking for schools near you, or near Ashanti Region? Open the near me tool and, if you choose to share your location, it lists the closest schools to where you are. Your position is used once to work out the list and is not stored. You can pick a town instead.
Find schools near meQuestions people ask about schools in Ashanti Region
- How many schools are there in Ashanti Region?
- 7,051 schools across 43 districts, which is 16.2% of every school in Ghana. 217 of them are senior high schools.
- Which district in Ashanti Region has the most schools?
- KMA, with 661 schools.
- How do I find schools near me in Ashanti Region?
- Open the schools near me page and allow your location, or choose your town. It lists the closest schools to you from the schools whose position we trust. Each district page in Ashanti Region also lists its schools.
- What are the best schools in Ashanti Region?
- We do not rank schools. To compare schools in the region, use the SchoolRegistry directory and look at programmes, boarding, location and published results.
- Which universities are in Ashanti Region?
- Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Kumasi Technical University are both in Kumasi. KNUST opened as Kumasi College of Technology in 1952 and became a university in 1961.
- What is Akwasidae in Ashanti?
- Akwasidae is a festival of worship of ancestral spirits that comes round every six weeks on a Sunday. The main event is at Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, where the Asantehene sits in state.