The government has announced that the double-track system in Senior High Schools (SHS) will end by 2027.

President John Mahama confirmed this at Sawla during his Resetting Ghana tour of the Savannah Region on Friday, May 22, stating that his government has embarked on expanding infrastructure in senior high schools nationwide and upgrading selected schools to increase enrolment capacity as part of efforts to phase out the double-track system next year.

“In 2027, no Senior High School will be doing double track. We’re reverting to the old system. Everybody will go to school at the same time to increase contact hours with the teachers. And so, we’re going to expand the infrastructure in our Senior High Schools,” President Mahama said.

To effect the planned transition, President Mahama indicated that “In this regard, the government has secured a $300 million facility from the World Bank to upgrade 50 senior high schools nationwide under the Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Results and Relevance for Jobs (STAR-J) Initiative.

The STARR-J Project (Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Relevance, and Results for Jobs) is a $300 million World Bank–backed initiative launched in 2026 to overhaul Ghana’s secondary education system. It aims to expand access, improve quality, strengthen relevance to jobs, and modernize management systems nationwide.

Under this project, 30 Category C senior high schools will be upgraded to Category B, while 20 Category B schools will be upgraded to Category A,” he added.

President Mahama said the move to end the double-track system is aimed at increasing contact hours between students and teachers to improve teaching and learning outcomes.

He made this known at Sawla as part of his Resetting Ghana tour of the Savannah Region on Friday, May 22.

He also stated that the government is investing in improving the quality of secondary education and improving access nationwide.

“This strategic investment is not simply about expanding infrastructure. It is fundamentally aimed at promoting equity, improving quality, and widening opportunities for every Ghanaian child.

The STAR-J project will also operationalise the Community Day School concept. New educational blocks will be constructed in urban and peri-urban communities to serve as community day schools. This initiative will help ease the growing pressure on boarding facilities and expand access to quality secondary education closer to families in urban areas”, he said.

About the double-track system

The double-track system in Ghana’s Senior High Schools (SHS) started in September 2018 under the Free SHS policy. It was introduced to manage overcrowding caused by the sharp rise in enrolment after Free SHS began in 2017. The system split students into two cohorts (Green and Gold tracks) to maximise limited infrastructure and ensure all qualified students had access to SHS.

About the Free SHS policy

The Free Senior High School policy was introduced in 2017 by the Akufo-Addo-led government to make secondary education accessible to all eligible students without financial barriers.

The policy was aimed at helping students who struggled to pay tuition, boarding, and other school-related expenses. However, the policy came with its challenges, such as overcrowding and congestion in schools, pressure on infrastructure and facilities, and increased pressure on teachers.

This increased the number of enrollments in the senior high schools that were listed under the Free SHS policy. About 3.5 million students have benefited from the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) program since its launch.

The immediate-past government revealed that it had spent over GH¢12 billion on the implementation of the Free SHS policy since its inception. Meanwhile, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has urged a reassessment of Ghana’s Free SHS initiative, recommending that households with sufficient means contribute financially so that government support can be directed toward students in real need.

During a meeting with Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, the Asantehene suggested a shared funding model, akin to previous arrangements where financial aid was granted to bright but disadvantaged students, while those with the ability to pay covered their own expenses.

“Those who can afford to pay, let’s have a second look at the policy. If someone can afford it, let’s allow them to pay. In the old times, when you passed, the bursary would look for good but needy students and award them scholarships, and those who could afford to pay did so.”

Former Education Minister on inclusion of private SHS in Free SHS policy to end double-track

Former Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, who served under the Akufo-Addo-led government, opposed the current administration’s measure to include private schools under the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy.

Addressing the media on Monday, September 16, Dr Adutwum, now flagbearer of the NPP, questioned how such an initiative can be achieved given the heavy demand for certain schools.

“I don’t understand the logic. The issue is not about lack of space in schools generally, but lack of space in the most desirable schools. So if you don’t get this right, you will prescribe the wrong solution. I don’t think private schools are the answer to the double-track system.

"Parents have a right to select the schools they want, and everybody wants Category A. If you don’t have Category A private schools, parents are going to have nothing to do with it,” he said.

The Mahama-led government’s announced plans to include private schools under the FSHS form part of a broader strategy to expand capacity and gradually end the double-track system.

In May, Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Clement Apaak, during a meeting with stakeholders, explained: “As part of our campaign promise, we have been working diligently to bring on board private senior high schools in the delivery of the Free SHS programme. Meetings have been held, engagements have been done, and we are very certain that with the diligence we expect from our side…”

However, the former Education Minister argues that it is impossible for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to successfully roll out the policy, as it fails to address the real challenge.

He believes that although the government’s intention is to reduce overcrowding in certain Senior High Schools, such an initiative would be a fiasco, since most students want to attend only the top-ranked schools.