President John Dramani Mahama has announced that government will construct 30 new e-blocks across the country to expand access to secondary education, ease overcrowding and bring an end to the double-track system by 2027.
Addressing residents at Paga in the Upper East Region on Thursday, August 13, the President said the new school blocks will be built under the STAR-G project, a GH¢3 billion investment in secondary education infrastructure.
He said many of the new blocks would be sited in densely populated communities, particularly in major towns and cities, where they will function as community-based secondary schools to bring education closer to students.
Mahama also revealed that funds have already been set aside to complete 30 abandoned e-blocks this year, arguing that projects paid for with public money should not be left unfinished.
He traced the e-block initiative back to concerns that the country's roughly 500-plus secondary schools could not accommodate the surge in students expected under the Free Senior High School programme, which prompted an earlier push to build 200 new e-blocks to prevent overcrowding from forcing schools onto the double-track system.
Under STAR-G, he said, government will now build a further 30 e-blocks entirely from scratch — separate from the abandoned projects being completed — effectively adding 30 new secondary schools to the country's education infrastructure, with a strong focus on high-population areas.
The President said expanding secondary school infrastructure remains central to ending double-track schooling, increasing contact hours between teachers and students, and improving overall learning outcomes.
