The Ministry of Education has thrown its weight behind the ACE Spoken Word Contest, with Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu proposing that the competition become a national annual event.
The proposal was announced during an event where the minister also revealed a US$300 million World Bank facility to expand senior high school infrastructure and help phase out the double-track system.
The twin developments emerged at the 2026 ACE Spoken Word Contest, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Ghana and facilitated by ACE Consult Limited, held at the Cedi Conference Centre in Legon, Accra.
The event brought together students, school administrators, diplomats, and education officials around the theme “World Cup 2026: When the Whistle Blows, Borders Fade,” drawing participation from Accra Girls Senior High School, Forces Senior High Technical School, O’Reilly Senior High School, and Ghana Christian International High School.
It was both a celebration of student talent and a platform for policy commitment at the highest ministerial level, with Accra Girls Senior High School emerging as the overall winner.
Matthew Asada, Acting Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Ghana, set the tone for the occasion by situating the contest within the U.S. government’s yearlong investment in youth programming ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Describing the Accra edition as one of his “favourite events” he had been part of, Asada said the spoken word format was the ideal vehicle to “think about and celebrate the upcoming World Cup” through the lens of what happens “when the whistle blows, and borders fade.”
He directed participants to the EducationUSA office in Osu as a free resource for those exploring study or travel opportunities in the United States, requiring only a government-issued identification card to access.
It was against that backdrop of demonstrated Embassy investment that Haruna Iddrisu made his most consequential announcement of the afternoon.
Ghana, he disclosed, is set to receive a US$300 million World Bank financing package, with formal approval scheduled for June 16, 2026.
Approximately US$250 million of the sum will be dedicated to expanding infrastructure in senior high schools across the country, directly targeting the elimination of the double-track system, a standing demand from parents, teachers, and education stakeholders who have consistently argued that the arrangement reduces instructional time and undermines learning quality.
Additional allocations under the package will support the establishment of new Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.
The Minister then turned directly to the partnership with the Embassy, proposing that the ACE Spoken Word Contest be formally adopted as a national competition modelled on the National Science and Maths Quiz and expanded across all sixteen regions of Ghana.
Haruna Iddrisu said he would work with the U.S. Embassy, the Ghana Education Service, and ACE Consult Ltd. to make the contest an annual fixture in the national education calendar, committing the Ministry to mobilising resources and corporate donors to support its expansion.
Talent, he said, did not reside only in Accra or Kumasi; it could be found “from Wa through Tamale to Yendi” and “from Koforidua to Takoradi,” and the competition’s reach must reflect that reality.
He gave his word that the spoken word contest would be elevated to “the highest national level.”
The contest drew participants from Forces Senior High Technical School, O’Reilly Senior High School, Accra Girls Senior High School, and Ghana Christian International High School, whose students engaged in spoken word performances, knowledge-based quizzes, and activities designed to broaden their understanding of global affairs while sharpening their command of the English language.
The competition tested both creative expression and intellectual depth, with participants drawing on the World Cup theme to explore ideas of unity, diversity, and shared human experience.
At the end of the contest, Accra Girls Senior High School claimed the overall title, taking the trophy ahead of the three competing schools in what organisers described as a keenly contested final.
