In 2027, Ghana will begin constructing integrated basic education model schools designed to combine kindergarten, primary, and junior high education under one roof. Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu announced the plan at the 64th Annual National Conference of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) in Ho, Volta Region.
The initiative responds to a significant infrastructure gap highlighted by the Auditor General’s report, which found that more than 3 million pupils in 10,730 schools across 13 regions lack classrooms. Pupils currently learn in overcrowded and inadequate conditions.
Iddrisu said the model schools will include facilities for ICT, STEM, laboratories, water processing, and changing rooms, all housed within a single compound. “For literacy to succeed, we have to realign investment and spending to foundational learning and basic education,” he said. “I’m happy to know that from 2020, there will be only one new model of an integrated basic school built everywhere in Ghana.”
The President of CHASS, Rev. Fr. Stephen Owusu Sekyere, addressed ongoing challenges facing schools nationwide, including shortages of furniture, infrastructure, and vehicles. He called on the government for “an emergency intervention to resolve this enduring problem” and urged the completion of several stalled projects funded by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).
Fr. Owusu Sekyere also raised concerns about delays in releasing operational funds, which he said have made school administration “stressful.” He appealed for a predictable funding mechanism to ensure timely disbursement and called for the settlement of outstanding balances from 2021 to 2024 to clear schools’ debts to creditors.
Construction of the integrated schools will begin soon, following executive approval by the President. The government aims to create a one-stop centre for basic education that addresses both infrastructure deficits and quality-of-learning needs.
The plan arrives amid ongoing debates about educational funding and infrastructure gaps in Ghana. The government’s push to combine kindergarten, primary, and junior high facilities into integrated campuses could reshape the school landscape, particularly for underserved communities.
The project’s rollout will test how swiftly the government can translate executive approval into operational schools equipped with STEM and ICT facilities. The success of these integrated schools will depend on sustained funding and the resolution of persistent arrears that have hampered school operations nationwide.
According to Joy Online.
