Kofi Asare, the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, has emphasized the need for a phased approach to ending the double-track system in Ghana’s Senior High Schools (SHS).
His comments came while appearing on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, January 18, 2025, following the nomination of Haruna Iddrisu, Member of Parliament for Tamale North, as the Minister-Designate for Education.
As part of its commitment to improving the education sector, particularly the Free SHS policy, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has pledged to eliminate the Double-Track System in secondary schools to ensure that all students can attend school simultaneously.
Discussing the challenges of the double-track system, Asare noted that while the system had enabled approximately 1.4 million students to access secondary education, it has also resulted in about one-third of students being home at any given time.
“I want to see Haruna approach these three tickets in a very meticulous manner. Double track has enabled 1.4 million students to be in school at various times. About a third of students are always at home at a particular time. Ending it means we are phasing it out. It must be a phased-out approach. So, that we don’t deny any of the 1.4 million children or more an opportunity for secondary education.
Mr Asare also addressed the role of private schools in solving the double-track challenge, highlighting the National Democratic Congress (NDC) plan to incorporate private schools into the solution.
He pointed out that many private schools have empty spaces that could accommodate up to 120,000 students. However, he added that adding the private senior schools to the free SHS policy will put an additional burden on the budget allocated to the policy.
“When it comes to the private school, the NDC wants to use the private schools as a means to end the double track because many of these schools are empty. So, seeking to utilise a free space, about 120,000 spaces are available.
“Looking at these private schools and listing them on the Computerised School Selection and Placement System for students to select private schools around them to attend. But we must have a fair idea of how much it will cost.
“This is because it has been estimated that about 150,000 students are benefiting from the free SHS. So, adding the private schools now to the free SHS, that will increase the budget by another billion Ghana Cedis,” he stated.
Influence 20% public budget allocation to Education Ministry – Eduwatch to Haruna Iddrisu