President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to convert Han Senior High School (SHS) in the Upper West Region into a boarding institution, following the completion of ongoing infrastructure projects at the school.
The President made the announcement when he inspected ongoing GETFund projects at Han SHS as part of his Resetting Ghana Tour of the Upper West Region.
President Mahama commended the quality of work being undertaken at the school and noted that five GETFund projects were currently ongoing.
“We appreciate the quality of work going on here. As the Minister and the Headmaster have said, there are five ongoing GETFund projects in this school,” he said.
Han SHS to receive boarding status
President Mahama explained that Han SHS was originally established as a Community Day Senior High School, but government had subsequently reviewed the policy because of the challenges faced by students in rural communities.
He said the Community Day School concept was initially intended to enable students to attend school from their homes, particularly in areas with high population densities.
However, he noted that the situation was different in rural communities, where schools often served students from widely dispersed areas.
“This school was established several years ago as a Community Day Senior High School,” President Mahama stated.
He explained that the E-block schools constructed during his previous administration were also originally designed around the Community Day School concept.
“If you consider the E-blocks that were built around the same period during my previous term as President, the intention was for them to serve as community day schools,” he said.
According to President Mahama, government later realised that the wide catchment areas of rural schools made daily commuting difficult for students.
“We came to the realisation that, especially for schools in rural areas, the catchment areas are so wide that it makes it difficult for students to commute to school every day,” he explained.
He said government would therefore apply the Community Day School concept mainly in densely populated areas while converting suitable rural schools into boarding institutions.
“Our intention now is to apply the community day school concept in high-density population areas, where children can live at home and travel easily to school,” President Mahama said.
“For schools located in rural communities with large catchment areas, we will convert them into boarding schools so that students can reside on campus.”
Dormitories to be constructed
President Mahama assured the Headmaster of Han SHS that the school would not be granted boarding status without the necessary infrastructure.
“Headmaster, we are not going to give you boarding status without building the necessary facilities. We will provide boys’ and girls’ dormitories, so you should know that boarding status is definitely on the way,” he said.
He added that once the ongoing projects were completed, the school would officially be redesignated as a boarding institution.
“Once the contractors complete these projects, we will officially redesignate this school as a boarding school, and you can begin admitting boarding students,” the President announced.
$300m World Bank facility to end double-track
President Mahama also disclosed that government had approved a new US$300 million World Bank facility aimed at supporting efforts to eliminate the double-track system in Ghana’s senior high schools.
“These are GETFund projects financed with the hard-earned money of Ghanaian taxpayers,” he said.
“In addition, we have approved a new US$300 million World Bank facility to bring an end to the double-track system.”
He explained that the funds would be used to expand infrastructure in schools still operating the double-track system, allowing all students to attend classes at the same time.
“For schools that are still operating double track, we will expand their facilities so that all students can attend school at the same time,” President Mahama stated.
16 new SHSs to reduce congestion
As part of the same programme, the President said government was also constructing 16 new senior high schools to ease pressure on existing institutions.
“Under the same programme, we are also constructing 16 brand-new senior high schools to reduce congestion in the existing schools,” he said.
President Mahama expressed hope that the combined interventions would result in the complete elimination of the double-track system by the end of 2027.
“These projects will continue, and we hope that by the end of 2027, no Ghanaian child will still be on the double-track system,” he stated.
He said ending the system would ensure that students receive more consistent contact time with their teachers.
“Every student should go to school at the same time, study together, and close at the same time,” President Mahama said.
According to him, increased contact hours between teachers and students would contribute to improved academic outcomes.
“We believe this will increase contact hours between teachers and students and help improve academic performance when they eventually write the WASSCE,” he added.
President Mahama assured the school community that he would return to Han SHS after the completion of the projects to commission the facilities.
“We will come back when the projects are completed to commission them and celebrate with you,” he said.
Story: Patrick Asford Boadu
