Kofi Asare, Executive Director of the Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch), has voiced his concerns about the NDC’s proposal to expand the Free Senior High School (SHS) program to include private schools. In an interview on Joy News’ PM Express, Asare argued that the double-track system’s challenges go beyond infrastructure limitations, making the expansion proposal ill-timed given current capacity constraints.
The double-track system, designed to ease overcrowding by dividing students into two groups, “Green” and “Gold,” has seen mixed results in managing Ghana’s SHS population, which Asare noted now includes over 1.4 million students. While the system helps accommodate large numbers without new infrastructure, it also reveals deeper issues such as demand-supply mismatches and financial strain on government resources.
Asare highlighted the overcrowding in popular schools alongside under-enrollment in others, describing it as “a demand-supply issue” that infrastructure expansion alone won’t resolve. He emphasized that managing student numbers and phasing out the double-track system should take precedence over expanding Free SHS to private institutions. “You don’t add to the numbers; you focus on managing the current capacity constraints,” he explained, adding that once a single-track system is feasible, including private schools could be considered.
Furthermore, Asare pointed out the financial strain that the expansion would impose on government resources, suggesting that funding should first target the existing issues. He also noted the potential increase in SHS enrollment following the Free SHS Bill, which would make SHS mandatory for junior high graduates. This change could bring an additional 700,000 students into SHS, intensifying demand for limited spaces and exacerbating the double-track issue.
In closing, Asare urged the NDC to consider the fundamental challenges of infrastructure and resource allocation before expanding the Free SHS program. The current system, he stressed, requires structural improvements to accommodate Ghana’s growing youth population without compromising quality.
