Parliament has approved a US$300 million credit facility from the International Development Association (IDA) to finance the Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Relevance and Results for Jobs (STARR-J) Project.
The facility is expected to expand access to secondary education, improve the quality and relevance of teaching and learning, strengthen technical and vocational education, enhance education sector governance and support the elimination of the double-track system.
According to a report by Parliament’s Joint Committee, US$257.7 million, representing about 86 per cent of the total financing, will be allocated to infrastructure development to address the country’s secondary school infrastructure deficit.
The funds will support the construction of 10 new senior high schools in underserved districts, rehabilitation of 150 existing schools, upgrading of 30 Category C schools to Category B and 20 Category B schools to Category A.
The project will also finance the completion of abandoned E-Block projects, expansion of existing schools, provision of furniture and other essential educational facilities, as well as improvements to the Computerised School Selection and Placement System to facilitate a transition to a single-track academic calendar.
The new schools are expected to be constructed in selected districts across the Central, Western North, Greater Accra, Volta, Oti, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Savannah and Western regions.
The remaining US$33.8 million from the IDA facility, together with US$31 million in counterpart funding from the Government of Ghana, will be used to improve the quality and relevance of secondary education.
The funding will support teacher professional development, curriculum reforms, digital skills training, entrepreneurship education, stronger industry partnerships and expanded work-based learning opportunities.
The Joint Committee said the interventions are aimed at equipping students with the knowledge and skills required by the labour market.
Government’s counterpart funding will also support the implementation of the revised curriculum through continuous professional development for teachers, with emphasis on mathematics, science, digital education and technical and vocational subjects.
The STARR-J Project will also include measures to improve education management systems, strengthen monitoring and evaluation, enhance stakeholder communication, prevent gender-based violence and establish an emergency response mechanism for unforeseen crises.
The committee noted that the project seeks to address challenges affecting the Free Senior High School programme, including inadequate infrastructure, overcrowding, unequal access, insufficient laboratories and workshops, weak ICT infrastructure, shortages of teaching materials and the mismatch between secondary education and labour market demands.
Recommending approval of the agreement, the committee said the concessional facility would significantly improve secondary education delivery and support government’s goal of ending the double-track system.
“The Committee is satisfied that the Financing Agreement provides Ghana with concessional resources to improve secondary education infrastructure, enhance the quality and relevance of teaching and learning, strengthen technical and vocational education, improve education sector governance and end the double-track system,” the report stated.
Parliament subsequently approved the US$300 million facility, paving the way for implementation of the STARR-J Project.
