President John Dramani Mahama has announced that government is targeting the complete abolition of the double-track system in Ghana’s senior high schools by the end of 2027.
He said government has secured approval for a new US$300 million World Bank facility to support the expansion of infrastructure in schools still operating the double-track system.
President Mahama disclosed this during an inspection of ongoing GETFund projects at HAN Senior High School in the Upper West Region on the first day of his two-day Resetting Ghana Tour.
According to the President, the new financing will enable government to expand facilities in schools where students currently attend in different tracks because of inadequate infrastructure.
“For schools that are still operating double track, we will expand their facilities so that all students can attend school at the same time,” he said.
President Mahama said government is also constructing 16 new senior high schools under the same programme as part of measures to reduce congestion in existing institutions.
He expressed hope that the combination of expansion projects and the construction of new schools would enable the government to achieve its target of ending the double-track system by the close of 2027.
“These projects will continue, and we hope that by the end of 2027, no Ghanaian child will still be on the double-track system,” he said.
The President said the objective was to ensure that students could attend school at the same time, study together and close at the same time.
He argued that ending the double-track system would provide students with more contact hours with their teachers, which could ultimately improve academic outcomes.
“We believe this will increase contact hours between teachers and students and help improve academic performance when they eventually write the WASSCE,” President Mahama said.
He said the government remained committed to expanding educational infrastructure to match the growing demand for secondary education.
President Mahama also stressed that the ongoing GETFund projects were financed with taxpayers’ money and therefore must be executed to the required standards.
He commended the quality of work being undertaken at HAN SHS and assured the school community that he would return to commission the completed projects.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️)/ Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭
