President John Dramani Mahama has announced that Ghana will phase out the Double-Track System in all senior high schools by 2027 through a new $300 million education support programme secured from the World Bank.
Speaking during the commissioning of a state-of-the-art PET Scan facility at the Sweden Ghana Medical Centre in Accra, President Mahama disclosed that the funding will support the implementation of the Transformative Secondary Education for Access, Results and Relevance for Jobs (STARR-J) initiative.
According to him, the programme is designed to expand educational infrastructure, improve quality and widen access to secondary education across the country.
“Government has secured a $300 million facility from the World Bank to upgrade 50 senior high schools nationwide under the title Transformative Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Results and Relevance for Jobs initiative. The acronym is STARR-J,” he stated.
The President explained that under the programme, 30 Category C senior high schools will be upgraded to Category B, while 20 Category B schools will be elevated to Category A status.
“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 said.
President Mahama indicated that the initiative would also revive and operationalise the community day school concept through the construction of new E-blocks in urban and peri-urban communities.
“These are going to be community day schools but they are going to be built in urban communities where it is easy for the children to commute to school and back,” he explained.
He noted that the policy would reduce pressure on boarding facilities in existing senior high schools.
“What this means is that 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 added.
The President further stressed that the STARR-J initiative would help government achieve its target of abolishing the Double-Track System next year.
“The STARR-J project is going to assist Ghana government achieve its target of bringing an end to double track in our secondary school system by next year,” he announced.
“By 2027 there should be no secondary school implementing a double track system in Ghana.”
He added that ending the system would also improve teaching and learning outcomes by giving teachers more time to prepare adequately.
President Mahama also revealed that the programme would include continuous professional development for teachers to equip them with modern teaching skills and digital competencies.
The President made the announcement while commissioning the new PET CT Scan facility at the Sweden Ghana Medical Centre, where he also outlined government’s broader investments in healthcare infrastructure and teacher welfare.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
