World Bank approves US$300m to phase out double-track SHS system by 2027
The World Bank Board has approved a US$300 million financing package to support Ghana's plan to phase out the double-track system in Senior High Schools by 2027, the Ministry of Education has announced.
The funding will support the implementation of the Transforming Secondary Education for Results and Jobs (STARR-J) Project, according to a Ministry of Education statement issued on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, and signed by the Press Secretary to the Minister for Education, Hashmin Mohammed.
The approval comes after President John Dramani Mahama announced the government's intention to end the double-track system by 2027 through the expansion of infrastructure in Senior High Schools.
Speaking at the commissioning of a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan facility at the Swedish Ghana Medical Centre in Accra last month, President Mahama said the project was intended to expand access to secondary education and improve learning conditions.
"By 2027, there should be no secondary school implementing a double-track system in Ghana," he said.
Mr Mahama repeated the target during a tour of the Savannah Region, where he told residents at Sawla that government was expanding infrastructure in Senior High Schools to increase enrolment before the complete removal of the double-track system.
According to the ministry, the STARR-J Project is intended to expand access to secondary education, improve teaching and learning, strengthen the relevance of education to the job market and address infrastructure shortfalls resulting from the introduction of the Free Senior High School policy.
The statement said 30 Category C Senior High Schools would be upgraded to Category B, while 20 Category B schools would be upgraded to Category A under the project.
The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, described the approval as an investment in Ghana's young population and said the project would expand learning opportunities, improve school facilities and better align secondary education with the skills required by the labour market.
Mr Iddrisu said the project would also help address infrastructure gaps arising from increased enrolment under the Free Senior High School programme.
The minister has previously stated that the World Bank facility forms part of a broader plan to finance the phase-out of the double-track system.
The government has also allocated GH¢1 billion through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to expand existing infrastructure and complete ongoing projects in Senior High Schools across the country.
The ministry thanked the World Bank Country Director, Robert Taliercio O'Brien, the World Bank education team and the Ministry of Finance, led by Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, for their support for the project.
It said the STARR-J Project was expected to widen access to secondary education and equip students with the knowledge and skills needed for the world of work.
