<h1><br></h1><p>The President made the announcement on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at Paga in the Upper East Region, where he commissioned a completed E-Block facility. According to President Mahama, the new schools will be constructed from scratch under the government’s Strategic Secondary Education Transformation and Reform for Jobs (STAR-J) Project, which is backed by a GH¢3 billion investment in secondary education.</p><p>He said a significant number of the new E-Blocks would be located in densely populated communities, particularly in major cities, to bring secondary education closer to students and reduce the distance they have to travel to school. The President explained that the new community-based schools would help address pressure on existing senior high schools by providing additional spaces for growing numbers of students.</p><p>The planned construction forms part of a broader government strategy to end the double-track system, which was introduced to manage overcrowding following the expansion of the Free Senior High School programme. President Mahama has set a target of ending the double-track system in senior high schools by 2027. The government says additional infrastructure is necessary to ensure students can attend school on a full-time basis rather than being divided into alternating groups.</p><p>The President also clarified that the 30 new E-Blocks are separate from another 30 abandoned E-Block projects his administration intends to complete. Funds were allocated in the 2026 budget for the completion of those unfinished facilities, with the President arguing that leaving projects on which taxpayers' money had already been spent unfinished would constitute a waste of public resources.</p><p>The government believes completing the abandoned schools while constructing additional facilities will help address infrastructure shortages, reduce congestion and expand access to quality secondary education. President Mahama also noted that some earlier E-Blocks were constructed in rural districts where communities are widely dispersed, making daily commuting difficult for students. Some of those facilities are consequently being converted into boarding schools to better serve their catchment areas. The new schools, particularly those planned for high-density urban communities, are expected to provide a more accessible option for students living close to the facilities.</p><p><br></p>