The Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has indicated that private schools in the country can operate their own trimester system despite a change in the academic calendar for public schools.
According to Dr. Adutwum, most of the private schools can do the trimester system and the Ministry doesn’t have any problem with it as it doesn’t come up with the calendar for private schools.
The Education Minister averred that the only issue will be that the private schools would have to come up with some instructional hours so that the National Schools Inspectorate Authority (NaSIA) will certify.
“So, if you are a private school and you are doing your trimester, nobody will ask you why are you doing the trimester. They have the freedom to do whatever calendar is suitable for the parents of the school at the private level.”
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum
Dr Adutwum explained that the new semester calendar is expected to have a comprehensive academic year that will address challenges regarding dates and timelines of school activities which will bring respite to parents.
GES implement semester system
Dr. Adutwum revealed that before he assumed office, the Ghana Education Service had already started the semester system in the Junior High Schools. With all the good intentions and the benefit of the semester system, he indicated that the Service faced challenges with parents who felt that making Junior High School a semester system and primary school a trimester system complicates their lives.
“And rightly so, we have parents who may have children in Junior High Schools and when they are on vacation, the children at the primary school will be in school. Consequently, childcare becomes a major hazard to them.”
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum
When GES decided to do an alignment, Dr. Adutwum posited that it did it with the parents in mind especially for those with younger ones. He mentioned that every two months there will be a break in between so the children can have enough rest .
Dr. Adutwum further revealed that the calendar was modified to suit the age level of the students so that the education system would be in alignment and not act to the detriment of the younger ones.
“I signed off on the GES proposal which came to me after a broad consultation. And in fact, for the first time we had a National Calendar Committee. I wanted to remove any challenge that we had experienced before.”
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum
The Education Minister intimated that he signed on to the new calendar believing that it will enhance the work of the teachers and students and not hinder it.
Dr. Adutwum giving an update in the education sector averred that all technical schools under GES have been transferred under the TVET Service.
“They also have their own Director General and now they are in the process of opening regional offices across the country to oversee technical schools.”
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum
The Ghana Education Service (GES) has indicated that the newly-introduced semester-based academic calendar for public Kindergarten, Primary, and Junior High Schools has come to stay. It stated that the system will help ease pressure on teachers, decongest the various schools, and help align academic calendars.
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