President John Dramani Mahama has unveiled an ambitious nationwide school infrastructure programme aimed at eliminating the long-standing challenge of “schools under trees” across the country.

Speaking at a presidential dialogue with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on Monday, March 30, the President disclosed that government has made budgetary provision to construct 400 new schools this year, alongside the supply of at least one million desks and chairs to address furniture shortages in classrooms.

“We are building 400 schools this year, with provided allocation for it. We are also providing at least one million school desks and chairs to eliminate the problem of no furniture in our schools,” he stated.

Beyond central government efforts, President Mahama revealed that district assemblies have been directed to accelerate school construction using the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).

According to him, each of the country’s 261 districts has been tasked to build two new basic school blocks annually using 80 per cent of their allocated funds.

“If you take 261 districts, two new school blocks per district is 522 new school blocks. Over four years, we are going to build almost 3,000 school blocks,” he noted.

The President added that the Ministry of Education will sustain the annual construction of 400 schools over the coming years, with the goal of significantly reducing, if not completely eliminating, schools held under trees by 2028.

“By the time we get to 2028, we should be able to cover as much as possible of the schools under trees,” he said.

The initiative forms part of broader efforts to improve access to quality basic education, particularly in underserved and rural communities where inadequate infrastructure continues to hinder teaching and learning.

President Mahama emphasised that with coordinated efforts between central government and local authorities, there should be no justification for children to continue learning in makeshift conditions.