Initiative to phase out double-track system of Free SHS commendable

The government’s decision to phase-out the double-track system for Free Senior High School (FSHS) is commendable and highly welcome.

Ghana implemented the double-track system in 2018 to address the extreme congestion in Senior High Schools (SHS) brought on by the Free SHS policy.

In order to make the most use of the facilities already in place, it divides the student body and staff into two alternating batches, Green and Gold. This allows one track to attend classes while the other is on vacation.

Despite greatly increasing access to education, the double-track system has brought up serious difficulties.

In actuality, it has decreased the number of teacher contact hours, which has had a detrimental effect on students’ academic achievement and syllabus completion. Teachers are compelled to teach year-round due to the lack of regular vacation time, which results in fatigue, lower job satisfaction, and less time for professional growth.

Additionally, parents have bitterly complained that their “off-track” children’s extended breaks sometimes lead to laziness since they are disconnected from their academic routines and easily forget what they have been taught.

To help their children stay on top of their schoolwork, some parents use private tutoring which they claim is expensive. Others claim the system is exceedingly complex and indeed it needs to be addressed.

Another unsettling problem is that constant, year-round use of school buildings provides little to no time for regular maintenance, repairs, and cleaning of classrooms and dorms, all of which can have an adverse effect on students’ health.

What is more disturbing is that despite the enormous spikes in student enrollment, there is  delayed supply of funds and insufficient food supply which schools frequently have to deal with.

The Spectator is pleased that the government is actively modernising facilities nationwide in order to phase out the double-tract system.

We are happy that the government has successfully completed negotiations with the World Bank to secure $300 million funds to end the double-track system in 2029.

This was announced by the Minister of Education, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu when he addressed the Government Accountability Series at the Presidency in Accra last week.

We are hopeful that the STARR-J Project (Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Relevance and Results for Jobs), an educational initiative by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the World Bank aimed at expanding equitable access, upgrading facilities, and completely phasing out the double-track system will be feasible.

The government’s promise that under the initiative 210 senior high, technical and vocational schools will benefit from infrastructure expansion and upgrades is laudable. This includes the rehabilitation and expansion of 150 schools through the construction of additional classrooms, dormitories and laboratories.   

When completed, the Double-Track System will be eliminated. Parents will heave a sigh of relief and teachers will not be overstretched.