Former President and flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama, has reiterated that his next administration will abolish the double-track system in the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme.

He said that the secondary education sector is struggling with overcrowding and inadequate resources, which have led to a decline in overall quality.

“We will abolish the double track system so that all our children can go to school at the same time and vacate at the same time,” Mr Mahama stated during the launch of the NDC Youth Manifesto on Monday, August 12.

He cited a study by the African Education Watch, which indicated that between the 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 academic years, the government’s annual per-student spending under the Free SHS programme covered only 23 percent of the costs, while parents bore the remaining 77 percent.

“The next NDC government will improve the Free SHS programme. We will engage the stakeholders in education and ensure proper infrastructure and sustainable dedicated funding from Free SHS,” he said.

The former president also stated that the next NDC government will expand access by building more infrastructure in existing secondary schools and will allocate funds to complete the E-blocks.

Additionally, he said that the next NDC government will launch the ‘No Fees Stress’ initiative, which will provide full support to eligible tertiary students through the Students Loan Trust Fund.