The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has announced that the government has secured a $200 million facility from the World Bank to permanently abolish the double-track system in senior high schools.

According to the minister, the double-track system has contributed significantly to declining academic outcomes at the secondary school level, particularly in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), due to reduced contact hours between teachers and students.

“They (students) spend less time with teachers, less time in the classroom than they should,” Mr Iddrisu stated. “We remain very committed, and the government has secured $200 million from the World Bank to work to end double track.”

The announcement was made during the inauguration of the Governing Councils of four Colleges of Education—Agogo Presbyterian Women’s College of Education, Gbewa College of Education, Al-Faruq College of Education, and Enchi College of Education.

Infrastructure Expansion to Drive Reforms

Mr Iddrisu explained that the World Bank funding would be used primarily to expand educational infrastructure across the country to accommodate increasing enrollment without resorting to the shift system. As part of the reforms, the Ministry of Education plans to reclassify and upgrade several senior high schools.

“We intend, as I have announced publicly, to convert 30 category C schools to B and 10 category B schools to A and expand infrastructure in all the category A schools,” he said.

The minister expressed concern about regional disparities in access to top-tier senior high schools, noting that some regions currently lack category A institutions.

“There’s no category A school in the Northeast Region. There’s no Category A school in the Savannah Region. In the Oti Region, there’s no category A school,” he observed. “We need to work at it.”

He urged traditional authorities, community leaders, and other stakeholders to collaborate with government efforts to improve educational standards nationwide.

Commendation for Early Action

Mr Iddrisu commended St Peter’s Secondary School, Kwahu, for independently taking steps to end the double-track system at the school level, describing the move as a model for other institutions.

“I should commend the St Peter’s School in Kwahu as one of the first schools that have been able to end double track,” he said. “So I’m going to reward them with infrastructure for going ahead of the government with their own intervention.”

Boost for Tertiary Education

In addition to secondary education reforms, the education minister disclosed that President John Dramani Mahama has secured a $30 million grant from the Chinese government for the construction of a new University of Science and Technology in Damongo, in the Savannah Region.

“The good news for you to carry back home is that President Mahama has dedicated $30 million of grant money he got from the Chinese government for us to begin work on a new university of science and technology to be constructed in Damongo,” Mr Iddrisu announced.

He confirmed that feasibility studies have commenced and that the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance have been formally engaged to advance the project.

Focus on Schools in Damongo

The minister also revealed plans to upgrade Damongo Girls’ Secondary School to category A status, stressing that the process would be guided by quality considerations rather than political declarations.

“I intend to elevate it to a category A school, but I’ll work the process so that I don’t compromise quality,” he said.

Damongo Girls’ Secondary School, he added, would receive targeted infrastructural support, with visible progress expected by the end of 2026.

Commitment to Quality Education

Mr Iddrisu reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving educational quality through sustained investment, infrastructure development, policy reforms, and strategic international partnerships.