Haruna Iddrisu: Gov’t to procure SHS furniture to phase out double-track

Haruna Iddrisu has announced plans by the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, to undertake a major procurement of furniture for selected Senior High Schools (SHSs) across Ghana.

The intervention, according to the Minister, is intended to help accelerate efforts to end the double track system in schools that already have adequate classroom infrastructure but lack sufficient furniture to accommodate all students at the same time.

Haruna Iddrisu explained that some senior high schools have enough classrooms and other physical infrastructure to operate a single track system but continue to run double track because they do not have adequate desks and other furniture for students.

He said providing such schools with the necessary furniture would immediately increase their capacity to accommodate students without requiring them to rely on separate academic tracks.

“There are many schools that if we provided them with furniture, we can take them off double track and we will do that. We will undertake a major procurement of furniture to fix that.”

The Education Minister made the disclosure during a surprise monitoring visit to selected schools in the Western Region, including Tarkwa Senior High School.

The visits formed part of efforts by the Ministry to assess conditions in schools and identify challenges that could affect teaching and learning, particularly as government works towards improving access to quality secondary education.

At Tarkwa Senior High School, Haruna Iddrisu said the shortage of furniture remained one of the factors preventing some schools from fully transitioning away from the double-track arrangement.

He indicated that government had identified schools where classroom space was available but furniture shortages were limiting their ability to admit and accommodate students under a single track system.