President John Dramani Mahama has announced that the government is constructing 16 new Senior High Schools to create additional capacity and help bring an end to the double-track system.
The President said the project is being financed through a newly approved US$300 million World Bank facility and is aimed at reducing congestion in existing schools.
Speaking during an inspection of ongoing Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) projects at Han Senior High School, President Mahama said the new schools would ease pressure on institutions currently operating the double-track system because of inadequate infrastructure.
“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.
President Mahama also announced plans to convert selected Senior High Schools in rural areas with large catchment populations into boarding institutions. He said the move would reduce the burden on students who travel long distances to access education.
According to the President, the community day school model is better suited to densely populated areas where students can conveniently commute from home. In rural communities, however, the wide distances between settlements often make daily travel difficult.
“The intention now is to use the community day concept in the high-density population areas where the children can stay at home and easily go to school,” he explained.
“And then for those that are in the rural areas with a big catchment area, we turn them into boarding schools so that the children can reside on campus.”
The government expects the additional infrastructure and revised approach to school placement to expand access to secondary education while gradually addressing congestion and supporting efforts to phase out the double-track system.
