The National Democratic Congress (NDC) says its promise to abolish the double track system under the Free SHS policy will not be immediate but rather progressive.

NDC’s 2020 Manifesto Committee Chairman, Professor Danso Boafo said the double-track system will only be abolished after the Mahama government is done expanding school facilities.

He told Evans Mensah on JoyNews’ PM Express on Wednesday that the party would have also built new schools to contain the huge number of students currently being enrolled under the Free SHS policy.

“It doesn’t end there what is the purpose of high school education? It is to provide students with quality of education. Under the present condition, under the present circumstances do you really think the students are getting the kind of quality education that you might have received, or I might have received or Nana might have received in the past?

“The answer is no. So to correct this we have to expand facilities, so we get more facilities and accommodate all of these students who are currently engaged in double track,” he said.

This revelation comes after the NDC said it will abolish the double-track system immediately it comes to the office.

In various statements by the flagbearer John Mahama he said stressed his next government’s intention to abolish the system without stating explicitly it will be progressive.

“We will abolish the current shift (double track) system, reintroduce the more efficient three-terms per academic year programme, and bring back the emphasis on skills training, technical and vocational education to provide students with more options, as they go forward with their choices in diverse career and aptitude paths,” Mr Mahama recently posted on Facebook.

His running mate, Professor Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang also speaking at the launch of the NDC’s 2020 Manifesto said, “We have every plan and desire to make the Free SHS much better by ensuring that numerous challenges are addressed and that higher operational and academic standards are introduced and sustained. To do this, we will abolish the double-track system.”

Following the introduction of the Free SHS policy in September 2017, the large number of students admitted into second cycle institutions across the country overburdened the infrastructure of most schools with students allegedly forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor.

Subsequently, government introduced a double-track system to alleviate the living challenges.

The academic calendar was modified to incorporate a double-track (gold and green) system where students of the same academic year alternated their start date.

The new programme saw students on the gold track in school, while the green track students waited their turn at starting the same academic year during the vacation of the gold track students.

 This system was widely criticised by many Ghanaians and civil society groups, including the NDC flagbearer, John Mahama who had promised to scrap the system should he be voted into office in the December polls.