President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to eliminate the senior high school double track system by 2027, utilizing a $300 million World Bank facility under the Transformative Secondary Education for Access, Results and Relevance for Jobs (STARR-J) project.
During an address in Accra on Wednesday, May 13, the President confirmed that this funding will facilitate the upgrade of 50 senior high schools.
“By 2027, there should be no secondary school implementing a double track system in Ghana,” President Mahama declared.
“The STARR-J project is going to assist the Ghana government achieve its target of bringing an end to double track in our secondary school system by next year.”
The initiative focuses on elevating 30 category C schools to category B and 20 category B schools to category A. President Mahama emphasized that the scope of the project transcends physical construction.
“This strategic investment is not simply about expanding infrastructure; it is fundamentally about promoting equity, improving quality and widening opportunities for every Ghanaian child,” he stressed.
To further alleviate the burden on boarding facilities, the project will construct new E-blocks in urban and peri-urban areas, reviving the community day school model.
“If we get some of the children to go to school within their communities, it will ease the pressure on the boarding schools that are elsewhere,” he explained.
Introduced in September 2018, the double track system served as a temporary solution to a 30 percent enrollment spike caused by the 2017 Free Senior High School policy. The system divided students into Green and Gold tracks, alternating campus attendance every three months.
While it successfully expanded access, it faced criticism regarding the accelerated curriculum and the strain placed on students and teachers during long breaks.
In addition to infrastructure, STARR-J will support teacher development in digital literacy and artificial intelligence. The President also detailed reforms to the teacher promotion structure, ensuring that progression is no longer limited by administrative vacancies.
“Teachers can now progress on merit, competence, experience, performance, and years of dedicated service,” he said. To support these goals, the government has allocated an additional GH¢1 billion from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to finish stalled projects at schools currently utilizing the double track system.
