The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has dismissed claims that the government’s $300 million World Bank loan is intended to finance the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme.

His comments follow criticism from the Minority in Parliament, who argued that the loan was evidence of the government’s inability to manage the economy a few months after Ghana exited the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

The Minority had suggested that the government was seeking the facility to sustain the implementation of the Free SHS policy.

Speaking in an interview with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Monday, July 27, Mr Iddrisu rejected the assertion, explaining that the loan is aimed at addressing long-standing challenges within the secondary education sector.

He said the facility will support efforts to end the double-track system, upgrade existing schools, improve the quality of education and expand access for more students.

“We’re borrowing to expand secondary education infrastructure. Don’t forget there was secondary education before Free SHS. We have finished our review; it has come to stay,” he said.

The Education Minister outlined three major areas the government is focusing on, including infrastructure expansion, improving feeding arrangements and enhancing the quality of education.

According to him, a budgetary allocation of about GH¢3.4 billion has been made available through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) in 2026 to address feeding challenges under the Free SHS programme.

He added that the government is also focused on improving the quality of graduates by strengthening teacher professionalism, updating curriculum content and placing greater emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and information technology.

Mr Iddrisu said the World Bank facility is specifically intended to help eliminate the double-track system, which he said has affected teaching and learning time between students and teachers.

“The World Bank loan is to help us end the double-track system, which didn’t allow for qualitative enhancement in terms of time hours between teachers and students. Within the next 24 months, we should see an end to the double-track system,” he stated.

He cited schools including Prempeh College and St Peter’s Senior High School as institutions that have started making progress towards ending the double-track system.