Matthew Opoku Prempeh
The Ministry of Education has rubbished media reports that it has cancelled the double track system under the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy in some schools in the Northern Region due to inadequate infrastructure.
The Ministry, in a statement, described the stories as “untrue” and reiterated that no school earmarked for the double track system had opted out of the policy due to poor infrastructure.
The double track system was introduced by government in September to reduce congestion in second cycle schools in the country.
There are indications that more than 270,000 students have gained admission to Senior High Schools (SHSs) under the policy introduced by the Akufo-Addo administration to lessen the plight of parents and guardians.
There were reports over the weekend that some schools in the Northern Region had opted out of the double track system due to infrastructure challenges.
The reports cited Tatale Evangelical Presbyterian Agriculture Senior High School (SHS) as one of the schools that had opted out of the system.
The reports said Deputy Director of the Education Ministry met heads of second cycle schools in the Northern Region and after the challenges in the schools were tabled before them, they decided to cancel the double track system in those schools.
The statement disclosed that “government earmarked 400 schools for the double track system on the basis that enrollment in those schools was expected to be high, leading to congestion. Government’s position has always been that the double track system is in response to anticipated congestion in certain schools.”
It said in the event that the enrollment figures for a school earmarked as a double track school fall below the expected threshold, then the school would be taken off the double track system as it would no longer have challenges.
The statement added that “government is monitoring the ongoing enrollment process, and will decide accordingly on a school-by-school basis as the situation evolves.”
By Gibril Abdul Razak