The government of Ghana has approved and set aside a total of GHC 1 billion in the 2026 GETFund formula to be used to end the infamous double-track system in Senior High Schools (SHSs). This was made public by the Minister of Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu.
He disclosed this while speaking at the Accra Girls Senior High School. According to him, the funds allocated are part of efforts by the government to ensure quality education delivery at the secondary level in public and private schools under the Free SHS.
“We remain committed to ending the double-track system as our contribution to continuing the quality senior high school education,” he stated.
“Accordingly, into the 2026 formula of the GETFund, President Mahama has directed the Minister of Finance, Ato Forson, to make an allocation of GH₵1 billion dedicated to managing the transition and responding to the hurdles of the transition.”
The double-track system came to the limelight as a novel strategy under the Akufo-Addo-led government in 2018. The introduction was a result of the rushed decision by the government to introduce free SHS only to be met by a surge in numbers for the student population the government was not ready for.
The lack of the needed infrastructure gave birth to the double-track system, which was expected to be a temporary solution that ended up lasting 8 years and beyond.
Ahead of the start of the 2025-2026 academic year in October 2025, the goverment has disclosed that 99 schools under the double track or transitional schools will operate as single track schools when the new school year starts.
Under the double track system, students were described as either green or gold tracks. They spent more time at home in the name of vacations and less time in school as contact hours. All these gradually affected the quality of education in public senior high schools.
There is no doubt that the Double Track system increased access to secondary education, but with the limited accommodation and classroom spaces, it negatively impacted its success.
The challenges it faced also drew criticism from parents, teachers, and education stakeholders, as teachers were overburdened. It also led to the need to compress teaching time and disrupt family routines.
“Free Senior High School has come to stay,” he stated. “His administration would work to enhance the programme by investing in infrastructure and improving literacy and numeracy rates across the country.”
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Prior to the 2024 general elections, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) promised to abolish the double-track system gradually. The party which is now in government described the Free SHS’s double track as unsustainable if the country wanted to offer the youth quality secondary education.
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According to the education minister, the dedicated allocation will address the infrastructural and logistical challenges that made the double track necessary, paving the way for its gradual elimination.
