Mawuli Senior High School in the Volta Region is appealing for the urgent provision of 32 additional classrooms to transition from the double-track system to a single track under the government’s Free SHS policy.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr. Benjamin Yaw Dei, made this appeal when members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education visited the school as part of their nationwide oversight tour of second-cycle institutions.
According to Mr. Dei, the current 64 classrooms available at the school are overstretched and inadequate to accommodate the growing number of students enrolled through the Free SHS programme.
He emphasised that unless additional infrastructure is provided, the dream of a smooth and sustainable single-track system will remain unachievable for the school.
“Mawuli SHS is doing its best with the limited infrastructure, but the numbers keep increasing every year. To effectively transition to a single-track system, we need at least 32 more classrooms to ease congestion and improve teaching and learning,” he stated.
The double track system was introduced by the government in 2018 as a temporary measure to absorb the high number of students entering senior high schools under the Free SHS policy.
However, concerns have been raised over its long-term sustainability, with many schools including Mawuli SHS still struggling with overcrowding and inadequate facilities.
In response to the concerns raised, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education and Member of Parliament for Akatsi North, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, assured the school authorities that their concerns would be captured in a report to be submitted to the government.
“We have taken note of all the challenges confronting Mawuli SHS and other schools we have visited. As a committee, we will present a comprehensive report to the Ministry of Education and ensure that urgent needs like infrastructure expansion are addressed to support the transition to single track,” he said.
Nortsu-Kotoe reiterated Parliament’s commitment to supporting the implementation of quality education policies, especially the Free SHS programme, by ensuring that the necessary investments are made in school infrastructure across the country.
The visit by the Select Committee forms part of efforts to monitor and assess the readiness of senior high schools across the regions as the government gradually phases out the double track system.
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