President John Dramani Mahama has delivered a strong defense of his educational reform agenda, arguing that dismantling the double-track system in Senior High Schools (SHS) is the single most critical key to reversing declining student performance in national examinations.
Unveiling key aspects of his administration’s policy trajectory during his inaugural tour of the Upper East Region on Thursday, August 13, 2026, the President linked the academic struggles of West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) candidates directly to the truncated instructional time caused by the double-track calendar.
The President argued that the staggered scheduling model introduced under the Free SHS policy has compromised educational standards by keeping students out of the classroom for extended periods, severely disrupting the learning process.
“We realised that one of the things affecting Free Senior High School was the reduced contact hours between the students and the teachers,” President Mahama observed.
Reclaiming Lost Instructional Hours
To fix the structural flaw, the President explained that restoring a unified, traditional academic calendar will give educators the uninterrupted class time needed to cover syllabus content thoroughly and prepare candidates adequately for West African Examinations Council (WAEC) assessments.
“So, we believe that if we end the double-track, it will increase the student-teacher contact hours and we believe that will improve their performance in the WAEC exams,” he emphasized.
Aggressive Infrastructure Drive Toward 2027 Target
The administration has earmarked the close of 2027 as the definitive cutoff point for the complete eradication of the double-track model across public secondary schools nationwide.
To meet the deadline without creating logistical bottlenecks or classroom congestion, the government is initiating a targeted infrastructure drive to complete abandoned school projects and construct new facilities, ensuring all Senior High Schools can transition smoothly to a single-track schedule.
