President John Dramani Mahama announced in May of this year that the government intended to abolish the double-track system in senior high schools (SHSs) by 2027.
However, today, July 20, 2026, during a news conference in Accra, Minister of Education Haruna Iddrisu set a new deadline of 2029 for the elimination of the double-track system.
He said that a significant expansion of school infrastructure was being used to implement this.
President Mahama’s previous goal of terminating the system by 2027 is not in accord with the Minister’s timeframe.
During the “Government Accountability Series” press conference, Mr. Iddrisu stated that the Cabinet has approved a 331 million-dollar STAR-J infrastructure program, which Parliament is scheduled to review on July 21, 2026.
According to Mr. Iddrisu, 210 senior high schools, senior high technical schools, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions nationwide would be included in the initiative.
He says that the scheme entails the conversion of 20 Category B schools to Category A, the upgrading of 30 Category C schools to Category B, and the renovation of 112 senior high schools and 38 TVET institutions.
Although the minister claimed that the program will reach 210 schools, the data he gave account for 200 institutions. He didn’t clarify the distinction.
According to Mr. Iddrisu, the expenditure was meant to solve infrastructural issues brought on by higher enrolment under the 2017 Free Senior High School policy.
He gave the instances of Achimota School and Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, where student enrolment had expanded dramatically without matching increases in classrooms, dorms, and labs.
“That’s why we’re introducing the STAR-J initiative. By 2029, we should be done with double track with this intervention. Some of the double-track schools it’s just furniture. They are not asking for money. Director General of GES is here. I hear about a hundred schools. If we give them adequate furniture, they are out of double track. So it’s to coordinate the things we are doing,” he stated.
According to the minister, the STAR-J program would also build a special needs school in the Volta Region and new community day senior high schools in Nima and Kasoa.
He also mentioned that Kintampo and a municipality in the Upper East Region were being considered for another special needs school.
The statement was made just weeks after President Mahama declared that 50 senior high schools will be upgraded from Category C to Category B and from Category B to Category A in order to terminate the double-track system by 2027.
According to the President, the project would be funded by a $300 million World Bank facility that was authorised on June 16, 2026, by the Bank’s Executive Board.
Speaking about this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), Mr. Iddrisu stated that he had been told the results would be available by July 31, 2026, at the latest.
In an effort to lessen favouritism in the placement process, he noted that this year’s Computerised School Selection and Placement System would only start after the results were made public.
Source: newsthemegh.com