Accra: The Parliamentary Select Committee on Education has urged the Minister of Education to prioritize infrastructure development in the education sector. The Committee has also called for the recruitment of more staff and auxiliary staff by the Education Minister to support Senior High Schools (SHS) in the country.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, the Chairperson of Parliament’s Education Committee, made the call when he addressed the media after day one of a week-long monitoring visit to some selected SHS in the Greater Accra Region and Tema. The Committee’s visit to the Chemu SHS, Tema, Accra Girls’ SHS, Achimota SHS, and Accra Academy SHS was part of its oversight responsibility to assess the schools’ performance and challenges under the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy.
The Free SHS policy in Ghana aimed to provide free access to secondary education for all Ghanaian students. This policy, introduced in 2017 by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), aimed to remove cost barriers for secondary education by covering all fees associated with public SHS. The government allegedly absorbed fees like tuition, boarding, meals, textbooks, and other charges, ensuring equal access for all students, regardless of their family’s financial status.
The day’s visit preceded the Committee’s weeklong visit to some selected SHS and Private Universities in the Greater Accra Region from Monday, April 28 to Friday, May 2, 2025, to highlight challenges and improve the education sector. It is also the aim of the Committee to use the visit to support the Minister of Education’s goal of ending the double-track system and enhancing educational infrastructure.
The double-track system in Ghana divides the student population and staff at SHS into two groups: a ‘green track’ and a ‘gold track.’ One track attends school while the other is on vacation, with both tracks alternating over the year, effectively doubling the student capacity in a school. This system was initially implemented by the NPP government to accommodate the surge in enrollment under the Free SHS policy, which aimed to increase access to education.
During the visit to the four aforementioned SHS, similar challenges including infrastructure, that is classroom accommodation and furniture shortages, staff shortage where there are insufficient teachers and auxiliary staff were reechoed by heads of these institutions. ‘We are satisfied with what we have seen, but we recommend that the minister of education addresses infrastructure issues, recruits more teachers, and improves facilities in senior high schools,’ said Mr. Nortsu-Kotoe.
The committee commended the schools for their resilience despite infrastructure challenges.
