WASHINGTON, June 16, 2026 - The World Bank today approved IDA financing of US$300 million for the Ghana Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Relevance, and Results for Jobs (STARR-J) Project which will expand access to quality secondary education and equip more young people with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to transition to higher education and enter the labor market.
Over the past two decades, Ghana has made considerable progress in expanding access to secondary education, reshaping the education landscape. However, this growth has also increased pressure on infrastructure, staffing, and instructional quality. Since the introduction of free Senior High School (SHS) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in 2017, enrollment has risen sharply, outpacing available infrastructure and teacher capacity. An increased reliance on a double-track system with long breaks in school attendance has led to discontinuity in learning, pressure on existing infrastructure and teachers, and on learning quality. At the same time, many students, especially in TVET and technical pathways, still leave school without the practical, digital, and transferable skills needed for employment. Public secondary schools are projected to face a shortfall of more than 850,000 effective seats by 2040.
"This project will help Ghana tackle some of the most urgent constraints in secondary education by expanding learning spaces, improving quality, and strengthening alignment between education, skills, and jobs," said Robert Taliercio, World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. "It will support 2.2 million students-including learners with disabilities-across almost 1,000 public secondary schools, with a strong focus on underserved rural and peri-urban communities."
Targeted investments in rehabilitation, upgrading, and new construction will expand learning spaces across the country. The project will also strengthen instruction in core subjects, digital skills development, and promote more job-relevant programs, particularly in technical and vocational education and training. In addition, it will support reforms to improve subject teacher deployment, data systems, monitoring, communications, and accountability, helping Ghana build a more effective and resilient secondary education system. Implemented by the Ministry of Education, the project is part of broader efforts to strengthen human capital and expand pathways to productive employment in Ghana.
"This project is a major investment in Ghana's growing youthful population, and a strategic contribution to the country's long-term human capital development and global competitiveness" said Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Education. "It will help expand learning opportunities, improve school conditions, and better align secondary education with the skills demanded by the labor market and more importantly respond to the infrastructure needs of the expanded access to free Secondary Education "
"Ghana's future growth will depend on whether today's young people leave school with the basic and intermediate skills to succeed in a changing economy," said Eunice Yaa Brimfah Ackwerh, Senior Education Specialist. "This financing will help expand access, strengthen learning, and equip more students with the skills they need for higher education, entrepreneurship, and decent work."
