President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to phase out the double-track system in senior high schools by 2027 through the construction of new schools and the expansion of infrastructure in existing institutions.
The President said the government’s objective is to ensure that all students in senior high schools operate under a single academic calendar, allowing them to attend classes and vacate at the same time.
Speaking during his ‘Resetting Ghana Tour’ in the Volta Region on Friday, July 17, President Mahama said the government is committed to addressing the infrastructure challenges that led to the introduction of the double-track system.
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“We want by 2027, no child in secondary school in Ghana should be on double track,” he said.
According to him, the government will construct 16 new senior high schools while undertaking expansion projects in existing schools to create enough classroom spaces and other facilities.
“We’re building 16 new secondary schools, and then we’re expanding the facilities in all the existing secondary schools so that all the children can go to school at the same time and vacate at the same time,” President Mahama stated.
He explained that the programme will be funded through a $300 million World Bank facility, which has received Cabinet approval and is expected to be submitted to Parliament for consideration.
President Mahama said the facility forms part of two loan agreements recently approved by Cabinet, describing them as the first loan agreements to be introduced by his administration.
“Only last week, Cabinet approved the first two loan agreements that we’re bringing to Parliament. For the first time in this government, the first two loan agreements,” he said.
The President further stated that his administration had not secured any loans from the international market within its first one and a half years in office.
“Indeed, when the Local Government Minister was speaking, he said that for one and a half years, we haven’t contracted a single loan from the international market. We haven’t taken a single loan,” he added.
He also disclosed that the second facility approved by Cabinet is a $500 million World Bank agreement aimed at improving feeder roads across the country, with the Volta Region expected to benefit from the project.