In this paper, we depart from the standard way of analyzing school enrollment by accounting explicitly
for educational selectivity in order to examine the determinants of child school enrollment in Ghana.
Using data from the Ghana Living Standard Survey round 6 (GLSS 6), we estimate a three-step
sequential logit model for the determinants of secondary school enrollment and its dependence on
completing primary school. We find that family resources such as parental education, household income
and the gender of the head of the household play a role in households’ child schooling decisions.
Educated parents are relatively more likely to enroll their children in primary school and keep them in
school until they complete primary education. As well, we show that educated parents do not promote a
gender-biased investment in the schooling of children at the primary level. While household welfare does
not influence children’s entry into primary school importantly, their completion of primary school
depends on household welfare. The study sheds more light on the pro-male bias phenomenon regarding
entry into primary school and primary school completion. Policies to promote the achievement of
Sustainable Development Goal 4 in Ghana must be grade sensitive.