The government says its plan to abolish the double-track system in Senior High Schools by the end of 2027 is aimed at improving students’ academic performance, particularly in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), by restoring full classroom instruction time.
President John Dramani Mahama said increasing contact hours between teachers and students was central to the education reform agenda, arguing that the current double-track arrangement had reduced teaching and learning time and affected the quality of education in senior high schools.
Speaking during his first-day tour of the Upper East Region on Thursday, August 13, the President said the government had identified reduced teacher-student interaction as one of the key challenges affecting the Free Senior High School programme.
“We realised that one of the things affecting Free Senior High School was the reduced contact hours between the students and the teachers,” he said.
He expressed confidence that returning schools to a single-track system would provide students with more instructional time, improve curriculum coverage and enhance their performance in the WASSCE examinations.
The double-track system was introduced to address overcrowding in schools following the implementation of the Free SHS policy by allowing students to alternate between periods of academic instruction and vacation.
President Mahama said the government’s strategy was to gradually phase out the system while expanding school infrastructure to accommodate all students under a single-track arrangement.
He indicated that the 2027 target would depend on the timely completion of additional classroom blocks, dormitories and other facilities required to support the transition.
According to him, the infrastructure expansion programme would ensure that the elimination of the double-track system did not reduce access to secondary education but instead created better learning conditions for students across the country.
The President said the reforms were intended to strengthen the quality of teaching and learning and improve educational outcomes nationwide.
