World Bank funding alone cannot end double-track by 2027 — IFEST

The Executive Director of the Institute for Education Studies (IFEST), Dr Peter Anti Partey, has questioned the government's target of eliminating the double-track system in Senior High Schools (SHSs) by 2027, arguing that the implementation timeline does not match the schedule of the recently approved US$300 million World Bank education support facility.

According to him, while the financing package represents a significant investment in Ghana's education sector, procurement procedures and project implementation timelines make it unlikely that the required infrastructure can be completed within the government's stated deadline.

Dr Anti Partey's comments come after Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, during the presentation of the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review, announced that government had secured World Bank support to accelerate infrastructure expansion in second-cycle institutions as part of efforts to phase out the double-track system.

The government's strategy is supported by the US$300 million World Bank-funded Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Relevance and Results for Jobs (STARR-J) Project, which aims to expand access to quality secondary education and improve learning outcomes.

Under the STARR-J programme, government plans to undertake major investments in secondary education infrastructure.

Key interventions include:

• Upgrading 50 Senior High Schools
• Elevating 30 Category C schools to Category B
• Upgrading 20 Category B schools to Category A
• Expanding dormitories, classrooms, lecture halls and dining facilities
• Increasing student intake capacity
• Improving teacher-student contact hours

Government believes these investments will help create the additional space needed to eliminate the double-track system.

Speaking on JoyNews, Dr Anti Partey acknowledged that the World Bank facility is a welcome intervention but cautioned that expectations should be realistic.

The World Bank facility is a very good intervention at this time of our secondary education. The unfortunate news is that the government roadmap seems not to be realistic. Because the facility was approved just this month. We know how our procurement process and other things go," he said.

He explained that development partner-funded infrastructure projects typically involve lengthy procurement, contracting and implementation processes before physical construction begins.

According to him, these procedures alone make it difficult to complete all the infrastructure required to abolish double-track within a year.

Dr Anti Partey further argued that the implementation schedule contained in the project itself suggests a much longer completion period. Targeting 2027 to end double track relying solely on the World Bank facility is not realistic. We think that the project plan itself pushed the end of the project to 2030."

He added that if the World Bank facility remains the primary source of financing, it would be more realistic to expect the complete elimination of the double-track system around 2030 rather than 2027. It is not going to be feasible to end Double Track by next year if the sole source of funding is the World Bank facility," he stated.

The education policy expert urged government to either revise its implementation timetable or mobilise additional financial resources if it intends to meet its 2027 target.

According to him, realistic planning is essential to maintaining public confidence in education reforms while ensuring that infrastructure projects are delivered efficiently.

He stressed that ending the double-track system depends not only on political commitment but also on the timely construction of classrooms, dormitories, laboratories and other essential facilities.

The double-track system was introduced in 2018 under the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme to accommodate the sharp increase in student enrolment while government expanded infrastructure in public secondary schools.

Since its introduction, successive governments have pledged to abolish the system through investments in school infrastructure.

Education experts, however, have consistently argued that achieving that objective requires substantial investment, effective project implementation and realistic timelines to ensure that all students can be accommodated under a single-track academic calendar.