Double-track system to end within 24 months – Haruna Iddrisu

The double-track system in Senior High Schools will be phased out within the next 24 months, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has announced.

Speaking on The Point of View on Channel One TV on Monday evening, Mr. Iddrisu said the government was working to restore all Senior High Schools to a single-track academic calendar through infrastructure expansion and coordinated support from key education agencies.

“Within the next 24 months we should see an end to the double-track system,” he said.

Mr. Iddrisu explained that the government would use a World Bank loan to support the transition, alongside interventions by the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).

“The World Bank loan is to help us end the double-track system,” he stated.

The minister said the current arrangement had reduced the amount of time students spent in school, limiting opportunities for effective teaching and learning.

“We didn’t allow for qualitative engagement in terms of time hours between the student and the teacher. Many students didn’t have enough adequate time on school campuses because of the introduction of the double track,” he said.

According to Mr. Iddrisu, several schools have already reverted to a single-track calendar, while others are close to doing so.

“There are many of them, including St. Peter’s in the Eastern Region, that have moved into a single track. I’ve seen Prempeh College give me a letter; they want to move into a single track,” he noted.

He added that some schools require only classroom furniture to complete the transition.

“There are a number of them who are simply looking for furniture to end double track. So if we coordinate our effort and coordinate the things we do between GETFund and the Ministry of Education and GES, we should be able to respond adequately to that,” he said.

The double-track system was introduced in 2018 following the implementation of the Free SHS policy, which led to a sharp increase in Senior High School enrolment.

Under the system, students and teachers were divided into two alternating groups—the Green and Gold tracks—with one group attending school while the other was on vacation.

The government is gradually phasing out the arrangement as additional infrastructure and learning facilities are provided to enable all students to attend school on a single-track calendar.