Government Constructing 16 New SHSs to End Double-Track System

President John Dramani Mahama says government is constructing 16 new senior high schools as part of efforts to reduce congestion in existing schools and bring an end to Ghana’s double-track system by the end of 2027.

President Mahama made the announcement during an inspection of ongoing GETFund projects at Han Senior High School (Han SHS), where he also announced plans to convert the school into a boarding institution.

The President commended the contractors working on the projects at Han SHS, noting the quality of work being undertaken.

“I want to commend the contractors for the quality of work that we can see going on here,” President Mahama said.

He noted that five GETFund-funded projects were currently ongoing at the school, which was originally established as a community day school.

President Mahama explained that government’s approach to community day schools had evolved after recognising the difficulties students in rural areas face in travelling long distances to school.

“We came to the realization that, especially for the schools in the rural areas, because their catchment area is very wide, it makes it difficult for the students to commute to school every day,” he said.

He said while the community day school concept would continue to be used in densely populated areas, schools in rural communities with large catchment areas would be converted into boarding institutions.

“And then for those that are in the rural areas with a big catchment area, we turned them into boarding schools so that the children can reside on campus,” he explained.

President Mahama subsequently assured the headmaster of Han SHS that the school’s conversion to a boarding school was imminent.

“Definitely boarding status is on the way,” he said.

He explained that once the ongoing construction works were completed, the government would officially change the school’s designation to a boarding school.

“Once the contractors finish, we’ll change the designation of the school into a boarding school and then you can start admitting students,” President Mahama stated.

Turning to the double-track system, the President said government had secured a US$300 million World Bank facility to support efforts to eliminate the system.

He said schools that are still operating the double-track system would have their infrastructure expanded to enable all students to attend school at the same time.

“We’ve just approved another World Bank facility of 300 million that is to end the double-track system,” President Mahama said.

“So, for the schools that are still running double track, we’re going to expand the facility so that all the children can go to school at the same time,” he added.

President Mahama said the construction of the 16 new senior high schools would complement the expansion of existing schools and help ease pressure on overcrowded institutions.

“Under that project too, we’re building 16 brand new secondary schools so that we can ease the congestion in the existing schools,” he said.

He expressed confidence that the combined interventions would enable government to completely eliminate the double-track system by the end of 2027.

“We hope that by the end of 2027, no Ghanaian child should be on a double-track system,” President Mahama stated.

He said the elimination of the system would allow students to attend classes together, increasing the amount of time teachers spend with them.

“Everybody goes to school at the same time, studies and closes at the same time,” he said.

President Mahama believes the increased contact hours between teachers and students will contribute to improved academic performance.

“We believe that that will increase the contact hours between the teachers and the students and it will help to improve their performance when eventually they write the WASSCE exam,” he said.

The President assured the school community that he would return to Han SHS when the ongoing projects were completed for their commissioning.