World Bank-backed STARR-J project targets access, infrastructure, teaching quality, TVET, digital skills and the eventual elimination of the double-track system
ACCRA, GHANA — Ghana’s secondary education system is entering another major phase of transformation following the approval of a US$300 million International Development Association (IDA) credit from the World Bank for the Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Relevance, and Results for Jobs (STARR-J) Project.
The financing was approved by the World Bank on June 16, 2026, with Ghana’s Ministry of Education serving as the implementing agency. The project is designed to expand access to secondary education, improve its quality and relevance, and strengthen the systems responsible for managing secondary education nationwide.
The scale is significant. The project is expected to reach approximately 2.2 million students across nearly 1,000 public secondary schools, with particular attention to underserved communities, girls, students with disabilities and other learners who face barriers to accessing quality secondary education.
WHAT IS STARR-J?
STARR-J stands for Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Relevance, and Results for Jobs. The initiative is a Government of Ghana project supported by the World Bank and is intended to address some of the structural pressures that have emerged as secondary-school enrolment has expanded.
Its central objectives are built around three broad priorities:
1) Access — expanding available secondary-school places and improving infrastructure, particularly in underserved communities.
2) Quality — strengthening teaching and learning and improving educational outcomes.
3) Relevance — making secondary education more responsive to the skills required for employment, entrepreneurship, further education and Ghana’s evolving economy.
The project is structured around three interrelated components covering access, quality and relevance, and education-system strengthening.
THE INFRASTRUCTURE CHALLENGE
One of the biggest issues STARR-J is intended to address is the infrastructure pressure created by the rapid expansion of secondary education.
The Government has linked the project directly to its objective of eliminating the double-track system in Senior High Schools by 2027
The double-track arrangement was introduced to accommodate increased enrolment under the Free Senior High School programme when available school infrastructure could not immediately accommodate all students at the same time. The World Bank-backed project therefore seeks to expand and rehabilitate physical infrastructure so that schools can accommodate students more effectively and improve learning conditions.
Government has also announced plans connected to the programme to construct 10 new senior and technical high schools and rehabilitate and retool 150 existing schools. Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu told Parliament in July 2026 that these interventions were part of the broader US$300 million-supported programme.
50 SCHOOLS TARGETED FOR UPGRADING
President John Dramani Mahama previously announced that 50 Senior High Schools would receive upgrading under STARR-J.
The plan includes:
- 30 Category C schools upgraded to Category B
- 20 Category B schools upgraded to Category A
The stated objective is not simply to expand the number of schools, but to improve equity, quality and educational opportunities across the country.
The programme also envisages the development of additional community day senior high schools, particularly in urban and peri-urban communities, allowing more students to attend schools closer to home and potentially reducing pressure on boarding facilities.
Ghana’s US$300 million STARR-J investment is much more than a school-building programme. It represents an attempt to confront three interconnected problems: access, quality and relevance.
The infrastructure component could help Ghana move away from the pressures that produced the double-track system. The skills component could strengthen the connection between secondary education and the labour market. And the systems component could determine whether these improvements are sustained after the project period ends.
But the ultimate test will not be the number of schools renovated, classrooms constructed or funds disbursed. The real test will be whether a Ghanaian student leaving secondary school in the coming years is better equipped to solve problems, use technology, pursue further education, create or secure decent work, and compete in Ghana’s economy and Africa’s increasingly integrated labour market.
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