Gov't Allocates $1.5billion To Expand Educational Infrastructure

As part of measures to augment the double track system by government, the Ministry of Education under the auspices of President Nana Akufo-Addo has allocated 1.5 billion dollars to expand infrastructure at the various educational levels in the country.

According to Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the government is committed to the course of the double track system and doesn't want any parent or ward to suffer.

Due to this, there will be enough accommodation slots for students at the basic, secondary and Tertiary cycles to enhance the government's objectives for the education sector.

The double track system is to create a calendar of two semesters in a year for the SHS 1 class, containing 81 days per each semester and 41 days of vacation for a sandwich class.

Teaching hours are expected to increase from six hours per day to eight hours per day under this new system, indicating that there will be an increase from 1,080 hours per year under the current single-track system, to 1,134 hours per year under the proposed double-track system.

The Deputy sector Minister in an interview with host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's 'kokrokoo' programme noted that the new arrangements will last for seven years to address the accommodation challenges in the various SHSs before the schools will return to the normal state.

". . some schools will be eliminated on yearly basis. Every year, there will be reduction in the schools doing double track," he stated and further disclosed that an additional 8,800 teachers are to be recruited to augment the system.

“Just 5 months ago, we recruited over 19000 teachers; graduate teachers and other educational workers. Now, we’re taking additional 8800 . . . The number of people who have applied for NABCO is beyond imagination".

Since there are few accommodation opportunities for the students, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum stressed that the President has given a directive to GETFund to ensure that five hundred million dollars out of the 1.5 billion dollars is allotted to the construction and expansion of infrastructure at the Universities and the rest pumped into the SHSs and basic schools.

“500 million goes into buildings in Universities but Secondary schools come first and followed by basic schools . . . They’re going to complete all their uncompleted buildings," he said.