List of 400 out of 696 schools to operate double track

Graphic.com.gh Education Aug - 13 - 2018 , 18:59

Government has adopted the double intake system for new entrants into public senior high schools (SHS) beginning in September 2018.

This is expected to address the growing numbers of students benefitting from the Free SHS policy.

Beginning this academic year, all senior high schools are to move from the current trimester system to the semester system, the Minister of Education. Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, has announced.

The move, he said, was part of the government's strategy to ensure that no student was denied admission to SHS under its free SHS policy.

Dr Prempeh said to enhance opportunities for students to gain admission to SHS, 400 out of the 696 SHSs in the country would operate the double track system, beginning from 2018/19 academic year.

"This system, which is temporary measure, is expected to last between five and seven years," he said.

What is double track

The double track school calendar is an intervention that allows schools to accommodate more students within the same facility.

It is often motivated by its potential to reduce overcrowding, as well as save cost relative to the construction of new schools in the short term.

Statistics available show that from 2013 to 2017, a staggering 493,016 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates qualified to pursue secondary education but could not do so because they were not enrolled.