President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned the completed E-Block Senior High School at Paga in the Upper East Region, reaffirming his government’s commitment to improving access to quality secondary education and eliminating the double-track system by the end of 2027.
Addressing traditional leaders, government officials, students and residents during the commissioning ceremony, President Mahama said education remains a central pillar of the government’s Resetting Ghana Agenda, with significant investments being made to improve both access and learning outcomes across the country.
“I can assure you that we are going to do everything possible to ensure that you have a very good learning experience in this senior high school,” he assured the students.
The President dismissed claims made during the 2024 election campaign that an NDC government would abolish the Free Senior High School policy, describing them as propaganda.
“I believe you can all see now that it was propaganda. We are rather improving Free SHS so that the learning outcomes and the quality of education will be better,” he stated.
According to President Mahama, his administration has resolved the challenges associated with the feeding of Senior High School students and has established a dedicated and sustainable funding source for the Free SHS programme to improve its quality.
The President explained that the E-Block initiative was originally introduced to expand access to secondary education by constructing 200 new schools to accommodate increasing enrolment.
However, he said many of the projects were abandoned after the change of government, contributing to congestion in schools and the introduction of the double-track system.
“We have come and said that by 2027, no secondary school in Ghana will be operating the double-track system. All our children will go to school at the same time and vacate at the same time,” he declared.
He noted that ending the double-track system would significantly increase teacher-student contact hours and improve academic performance, particularly in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
President Mahama announced that under the government’s GH¢3 billion STAR-J Project, provision has been made in the 2026 Budget to complete 30 abandoned E-Block projects, including the Paga Senior High School.
“As we said in 2024, whenever government has already invested money in a project, if you do not complete it, it amounts to a waste of taxpayers’ money,” he said.
He added that another 30 brand-new E-Block schools would also be constructed across the country, particularly in densely populated urban communities, to serve as community-based secondary schools.
President Mahama further announced that the Paga E-Block would officially become a boarding school from the next academic year.
He disclosed that the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) would construct a boys’ dormitory, girls’ dormitory and dining hall for the school, while also providing furniture and other essential equipment to ensure smooth operations.
In addition, the President donated a brand-new 60-seater bus to the school, indicating that it would be delivered even before the boarding facilities are completed.
“I am going to give this school a brand-new 60-seater bus. You will get the bus even before the dormitory blocks are built,” he announced to loud applause.
President Mahama challenged the management and staff of the school to make it a centre of academic excellence, expressing his desire to see students achieve a 100 percent pass rate in the WASSCE.
Addressing concerns raised by the Paga Pio, the President assured residents that the government remains committed to completing the Agenda 111 hospital projects. He revealed that 35 facilities that are at least 70 percent complete have been selected for completion this year, with additional hospitals to be taken up in phases over the next two years.
On infrastructure, President Mahama announced that the long-awaited Navio Bridge project would soon be awarded on contract following sustained advocacy by the area’s Member of Parliament.
He also pledged to address water supply challenges in Paga by directing the leadership of Ghana Water Limited and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency to collaborate and integrate their distribution systems to ensure reliable access to potable water for residents.
The President thanked the chiefs and people of Paga for their warm reception and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to delivering projects that improve the lives of Ghanaians through quality education, healthcare and infrastructure development.
Story: Patrick Asford Boadu
