The Ghana Education Service (GES) has postponed the reopening date for Senior High School (SHS) Form One students from September 18 to September 25, 2023.
According to a letter signed by the Acting Director of Schools and Instructions Division of the GES, Prince C. Agyemang-Duah, heads of schools were informed about the change in reopening date and asked to communicate the new date to parents and students.
The reason for the change is that with the double track system, if the original opening date of September 18 was maintained, schools may not have been able to accommodate the large number of students at once.
Mr. Agyemang-Duah explained that while the last paper of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) will be written on September 26, most final year students would have finished writing and left by then. This means that by September 25, the number of final year students still in school will have reduced significantly and will not affect accommodation. After consulting with the Director-General of GES, it was agreed to shift the reopening date to September 25 to give final year students enough time to complete their exams.
In January 2023, the GES released the academic calendar for pre-tertiary institutions for the year. Under the transitional academic calendar for double track SHSs, Form Three students were scheduled to have 1,360 contact hours, Form Two students 1,200 hours and Form One students 1,080 hours.
Form Three students were set to return to school on January 10, 2023 for the first term ending on April 5. They were then to go on break from April 6 to 16. The second term was scheduled from April 17 to June 1. Students were to vacate from June 2 to 8 while the third term was slated for June 9 to September 15 to end the academic year.
For Form Two students, the first term was from January 10 to February 17, followed by a break from February 18 to April 10. The second term was from April 11 to June 1 to pave the way for vacation from June 2 to August 11. Students were expected to resume the third term from August 14 to November 30 to end the academic year.
Form One students were supposed to be in school from February 20 to April 13 for the first term and go on break from April 14 to June 8. The second term was from June 9 to August 10 with a break from August 11 to September 17. The third term was originally fixed for September 18 to November 30.
Under the single track calendar for SHSs, Form Three students were to undertake 1,360 contact hours, Form Two students 1,280 hours and Form One students 1,120 hours. The timetable was similar to the double track system except Form Two students' second term started from August 17 to 25.
By postponing the reopening date, schools will now have more time to properly accommodate final year students still taking exams and Form One students reporting to begin their SHS education. The change highlights the need for flexibility in academic calendars to adapt to emerging situations.
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