Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has warned against the hasty abolition of the double-track system, cautioning that such a move could disrupt educational access and prevent thousands of students from enrolling in senior high schools.
His remarks follow the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) pledge to end the double-track system if elected in 2024, a move Dr. Adutwum believes could have “disastrous” consequences for student enrolment.
Addressing clergy members in the Ashanti Region on Tuesday, 29 October 2024, Dr. Adutwum highlighted the need for a gradual, strategic phasing out of the double-track system rather than an immediate cessation.
He explained that the government has already started to phase out double-track by constructing additional facilities across several schools to accommodate the rising demand for high school enrollment.
“When the concept of double-track was introduced in Ghana, it was to meet the increased demand in enrollment in our High Schools, especially the category A schools,” he stated, underscoring the role of the Free Senior High School policy in boosting student numbers.
Dr. Adutwum noted that significant progress has been made in removing schools from the double-track system, citing specific examples.
“A number of the schools are no longer double-track. For instance, Tamale Senior High School is no longer double-track. We’re also working on Opoku Ware Senior High School, which is likely to exit the system in the coming academic year because we have built more facilities there,” he said.
Warning against politically driven motives, Dr. Adutwum asserted: “Some people say they will abolish double-track, and I say to myself, they don’t know what they are talking about.”
He explained that the current infrastructure could not sustain enrollment levels without the double-track system, stating: “If you abolish the double track at Prempeh College today, they will not be able to enroll one student. Presec will not take in one student. If you don’t want double-track and you cancel it, 1,500 students who are going this year will not have space, so they can’t go.”
Dr. Adutwum also questioned the consequences of abruptly ending the system without adequate preparations.
“Do we cancel it in the name of politics and push 1,500 students away from Opoku Ware? It’s our choice, but that choice is disastrous,” he cautioned.
The government’s ongoing infrastructure expansion aims to gradually accommodate students without the need for double-track, with plans to continue extending these improvements to more schools.
Dr. Adutwum stressed that a premature end to the double-track system could undermine recent educational gains and limit opportunities for students across the country.
Source: Modern Ghana
