A majority of Ghanaians who participated in a survey believe the double-track system has contributed to a decline in the quality of senior high school (SHS) education.
Majority of the 1,062 respondents in the survey conducted across all 16 regions of Ghana said it was largely because the arrangement had placed pressure on existing school infrastructure and the student-teacher ratio.
Eight years after the system was introduced as a temporary measure to accommodate the sharp increase in enrolment under the Free SHS policy, 64.7 per cent of the respondents in the nationwide poll said it had reduced the quality of SHS education.
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) conducted the poll in August 2026 and found out that 20.2 per cent believed the system had improved education quality, while 14.7 per cent said it had had no effect and 0.2 per cent had no opinion.
The increase in enrolment under the Free SHS programme put pressure on existing school facilities and teachers, prompting the government to introduce the double-track system in 2018 to enable more students to use the available infrastructure.
Another 54.3 per cent of respondents to the poll, however, supported government borrowing to construct additional schools as a long-term measure to phase out the double-track system.
Pressure on infrastructure
The system was introduced because existing SHS infrastructure could not accommodate the growing number of students entering secondary education under Free SHS.
Under the arrangement, students are divided into two groups that take turns attending school, enabling more students to use available facilities.
However, the continued reliance on the system has raised concerns about its effectiveness on the quality of education, particularly amid pressure on school infrastructure and the student-teacher ratio.
Support for more schools
The IEA poll also found 38.4 per cent of respondents opposed to borrowing to build infrastructure, while 6.2 per cent expressed no opinion.
The support for additional infrastructure comes despite concerns about the country’s public debt. Among respondents who said the double-track system had reduced the quality of SHS education, 60.8 per cent supported the government borrowing to construct additional school infrastructure.
Another 38.4 per cent opposed borrowing to construct additional school infrastructure, while 0.8 per cent had no opinion.
The figures suggest that a substantial number of Ghanaians who are concerned about the quality of SHS education see the expansion of school infrastructure as part of the solution.
Debt concerns remain
The IEA, in a release, said the opposition to additional borrowing reflected concerns about the country’s public finances.
It said while many respondents supported expanding infrastructure to end the double-track system, a significant proportion preferred the government to explore alternative financing arrangements rather than add to the public debt burden.
“The poll, therefore, presents two concerns: the need to expand SHS infrastructure to improve education quality and the need to ensure that financing such expansion does not place further pressure on public finances,” the policy think tank said.
