Accra: President John Dramani Mahama has reiterated his administration's commitment to phase out the Double-Track System in the nation's senior high schools (SHSs). He announced that by the end of 2027, no school in Ghana should still be operating under the double-track system, assuring that all students would attend school and vacate at the same time. This initiative aims to increase contact hours between teachers and learners, thereby improving educational outcomes.
According to Ghana News Agency, President Mahama made these remarks during a Citizens' Engagement held in Wa at the climax of his two-day Resetting Ghana Tour of the Upper West Region. He noted that the Government had secured a $300-million facility from the World Bank to support efforts to eliminate the double-track system. Addressing challenges in the education sector, President Mahama pointed out that his administration inherited a situation where the Free Senior High School programme was introduced without a dedicated funding source. Consequently, schools depended on delayed budget releases, leading to complaints from headmasters about inadequate funding and food shortages.
The President emphasized that the Government has since established dedicated funding for SHSs and student feeding programmes. 'Today, we have established dedicated funding for Senior High Schools. We have also created dedicated financing for student feeding, and complaints from headmasters have reduced considerably,' he stated.
President Mahama also addressed the recent West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, which sparked public discussion. He refrained from debating the statistics, encouraging the public to examine the figures themselves. He expressed satisfaction that the results reflected the genuine performance of students, attributing this development to improved invigilation and a reduction in organized examination malpractice. 'The era when students felt entitled to leaked answers and attacked teachers who enforced discipline must remain behind us,' he asserted. 'Our children must succeed because they have learned, and our teachers must teach with integrity,' he added.