Education Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum has warned against the calls to abolish the double-track system, stating that such a move could restrict access to Free Senior High School (SHS) education for many Ghanaians.
During an unannounced visit to Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School (PRESEC), Legon, on November 4, Dr. Adutwum highlighted that the double-track system plays a crucial role in providing broader access to secondary education.
His visit allowed him to evaluate the admission process for first-year students and engage with them, encouraging them to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the free SHS program.
While at the school, Dr. Adutwum also inspected a newly refurbished building intended for the school’s new Engineering School Curriculum, part of the Ministry’s initiative to enhance Ghana’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) agenda.
In an exclusive interview with Channel One News, he addressed the ongoing discussions about the double-track system, emphasizing its significance in expanding educational access.
He also underscored the necessity for Ghana’s education system to shift from a purely theoretical framework to a STEM-focused approach, urging stakeholders to collaborate and depoliticize educational issues to promote academic excellence.
“This year, a number of schools are moving away from Double Track because they have enough facilities. So the whole premise is this, every young man growing up in Ghana wants to come to PRESEC. What does that mean for us as a nation? We need to provide more facilities so that PRESEC can educate more students for us.
“But until we get those facilities, it makes sense to divide the PRESEC population into three, keep one at home while two of them are here until such a time that you can put up more buildings and all of them will come at the same time. So it’s well thought through.
“This system has been used in a number of countries around the world, including the United States of America. So what we are introducing here is research-driven. If the double track is such a bad thing, Why is it that PRESEC has implemented it and they have gotten better outcomes than when there was no double track?”
