Govt to construct two new community day SHSs in Nima, Kasoa
Plans are underway for the central government to construct two new community day Senior High Schools (SHSs) in Nima, Accra and Kasoa in the Central Region under the STAR-J infrastructure programme, the Minister for Education, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, has said.
“It is the view of President John Dramani Mahama that we should encourage the establishment of community day schools in the category of what is in Kwabenya. So, we will build one in Nima and one in Kasoa as part of the STAR-J project,” the Education Minister stated.
He explained that the government’s move to construct community day second-cycle schools follows the enormous enrolment under the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy, which has exceeded 1.5 million students, placing considerable pressure on classrooms and other educational facilities across the country.
The Minister in Charge of Education disclosed that the soon-to-be-constructed community day Senior High School (SHS) in Nima, Greater Accra, could be developed into a science-focused school.
“We have no difficulty at all establishing that senior high school as a science school. The Honourable Member of Parliament for the area has written formally to me, dedicating land for that purpose,” he said.
Regarding the proposed school in Kasoa, the Sector Minister for Education and Tamale South Member of Parliament said the municipality’s rapidly growing population made the project necessary.
“I hope you know the population of Kasoa. Whether one senior high school will be enough for them is another matter. It is a growing population, and we need to expand their access to secondary education. We may locate it away from the existing school in another highly populated area,” he stated.
Mr Iddrisu said the projects formed part of the government’s broader efforts to expand access to secondary education and address infrastructure challenges caused by increasing student enrolment.
The STAR-J programme, which has received Cabinet approval, is expected to provide new classroom blocks, rehabilitate existing senior high schools and Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions, and upgrade selected Category B and Category C Second-Cycle Schools.
The STAR-J (Secondary Transformation for Access Results and Relevance for Jobs) programme is a $300 million to $331 million educational initiative backed by the World Bank and approved by the Ghanaian Cabinet. Its core goal is to expand access, improve quality, and end the Senior High School (SHS) double-track system by 2029.
The Minister of Education, following this programme, has said the double-track or green and gold track system introduced to contain enrolment in secondary schools will be phased out completely by 2029.
“That’s why we’re introducing the STAR-J initiative. By 2029, we should be done with double track with this intervention. Some of the double-track schools, it’s just furniture. They are not asking for money. Director General of GES is here. I hear about a hundred schools. If we give them adequate furniture, they are out of double track. So it’s to coordinate the things we are doing,” he said.
Speaking at a press briefing, Mr Haruna Iddrisu said the STAR-J programme would cover 210 senior high schools, senior high technical schools and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions across the country.
According to him, the programme includes the rehabilitation of 112 senior high schools and 38 TVET institutions, the upgrading of 30 Category C schools to Category B and the conversion of 20 Category B schools to Category A.
