This article analyses selected texts from documents on the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (fCUBE) policy implementation in Ghana to unearth the discursive shift in policy (i.e. from predominantly socialist/social democratic towards neo-liberal ideological policy direction) in recent time. The methodological approach involves the critical discourse analysis (CDA) of extracts selected purposefully from the fCUBE policy documents to show how Ghana's education policy has evolved over time. Owing to its commitment to enhancing the educational opportunities of the socially and economically disadvantaged, the analyses view fCUBE as a rights-based policy deeply rooted in social democracy. However, the strategies for implementation outlined in the fCUBE policy documents do not appear consistent with the policy goals/intentions. A significant discursive shift in policy direction and language of implementation is uncovered, which the article contends, is due to the emergence of neo-liberal ideological discourses on education wrapped in the rhetoric of "skills for the world of work". The article concludes that owing to its potential to draw on language as a resource for analysing complex social issues, CDA is a useful interdisciplinary methodology for highlighting new textual formations and marginal discourses within policy texts and for tracing discursive shifts in policy implementation processes. (Contains 1 table.)