Accra: President John Dramani Mahama has announced that the government will phase out the double-track system in senior high schools by 2027. This initiative will be funded by a $300 million World Bank-financed facility under the Transformative Secondary Education for Access, Results and Relevance for Jobs (STARR-J) project.
According to Ghana Web, the announcement was made during the commissioning of the PET CT Scan facility at the Sweden Ghana Medical Centre in Accra on May 13, 2026. President Mahama emphasized that by 2027, no secondary school in Ghana should be implementing the double-track system.
The STARR-J project will see 30 Category C schools upgraded to Category B, and 20 Category B schools upgraded to Category A. The project aims to expand access and improve the quality of secondary education through significant infrastructure upgrades and school improvements nationwide.
The President highlighted that the strategic investment is not only about expanding infrastructure but also about promoting equity, improving quality, and widening opportunities for every Ghanaian child. The government has allocated GHS1 billion to phase out the double-track system.
The project will also operationalize the community day school concept, with new E-Blocks to be built in urban and peri-urban communities, serving as community day schools. The double-track system was initially introduced by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government to manage overcrowding due to expanded access to secondary education. This system led to a surge in enrolment by more than 30 percent, revealing critical shortages in educational facilities.