A former Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Dr Kwabena Bempah Tandoh, has described the double-track system as a “lifesaving policy” that prevented thousands of students from being denied access to secondary education.

Responding to recent comments by Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, who argued that the system compromised quality, Dr. Tandoh insisted the initiative was a pragmatic innovation that expanded opportunity for over a million young people across the country.

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He explained that in 2018 alone, the introduction of the double-track system absorbed more than 182,000 students who would have been left out due to limited space in senior high schools.

“The reality is simple: without double-track, Ghana would have locked out its own children from the promise of free SHS. The system created access where none existed and gave hope to over 1.2 million students who benefited between 2018 and 2021,” Dr. Tandoh stressed.

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According to him, the policy not only saved lives by keeping young people in school, but also ensured equity, especially for children from poor and rural backgrounds who would otherwise have been excluded.

He further pointed out that while the system was designed as a temporary measure, it was backed by strong investment in infrastructure. By 2021, he noted, about 800 out of 1,132 senior high school projects were completed to phase out the model.

The former GES official also cited performance outcomes to support his position, stating that Ghanaian students topped the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Excellence Awards consistently during the period.

“Contrary to fears of quality decline, evidence showed that results improved, and Ghana continued to shine regionally,” he said.

Dr. Tandoh added that the double-track system laid the foundation for broader digital transformation in education, including online learning platforms, electronic libraries, and remote teaching solutions that have since benefited both teachers and students.

He urged policymakers and the public to view the initiative not as a failure, but as a bold and necessary intervention that safeguarded access to education during a critical phase of the free SHS policy.