A $40 million loan facility to improve some Senior High Schools in the country has been approved by Parliament

This forms part of a financing agreement between the government of Ghana and the International Development Association of the World Bank.

This financial support is coming at a time government is implementing the ambitious Free Senior High School programme, which has been plagued with widespread infrastructure challenges.

President Nana Akufo-Addo had already hinted at this facility being a solution to the infrastructure challenges in secondary schools.

The loan would be used as additional financing for the Secondary Education Improvement Project, which would upgrade facilities in some existing 75 senior high schools.

The Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah, said “75 senior high schools will have their facilities upgraded to improve academic performance. Also, there will be quality improvement support to 107 additional schools.”

He added that “the committee finds the project immensely important towards enhancing secondary education in Ghana, to help provide more secondary level graduates with the relevant skills to enter tertiary institutions and the labour market.”

Infrastructure relief for schools

This notwithstanding, the government has already put in place measures to alleviate these challenges as an amount of Ghc80 million cedis has been allocated to address the challenges relating to furniture and beds.

President Nana Akufo-Addo recently announced that contracts will soon be awarded for the provision of 69,500 single desks, and 13, 100 bunk beds to Senior High Schools across the country.