The ministry of education has clarified agitations by some teacher unions that, the ministry of education together with the Ghana Education Service did not involved stakeholders in the decision making and the implementation of the new academic calendar.
According to the Public Relations Officer for the ministry, Mr Yaw Opoku Mensah who spoke to Kwame Koranteng on Anɔpa Dawuro on Republic Fm today 18 January, 2022, every decision that was taken in the implementation of the calendar was not solely limited to the ministry and the education service.
“Well, every decision we took was represented by all the stakeholders who matter as far as the calendar is concerned. Can we recall before the would come out, we had briefings of an inter – ministerial committee in the educational sector who helping and mobilizing to put together the calendar”?
He said, the mid semester is not the only mid semester break in the calendar. According to him, from January 18, there will be a break on the 12 April to April 18 as a mid semester break.
He revealed that, vacation will be given on June 9 and resume on July 26 after the semester break. According to him, another break will be given on September 30 to October 9, and then vacation on December 16.
Meanwhile .Some unions in the basic education sector have called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to immediately withdraw the new policy changing the trimester to a semester-based academic calendar for broader consultation.
The unions consisting of NAGRAT, GNAT, TEWU and CCT-GH in a joint statement said they will fiercely resist the policy if the government fails to withdraw its decision.
According to the group, for such a major policy decision, the government should have engaged the teacher unions.
The ministry then said, with the previous calendar, there was 16 weeks in the first and second trimester and then 14 weeks in the last trimester but with this new calendar, there’s not enough vacations or holidays.
The teacher unions have also raised arguments that, contact hours have been adjusted upwardly, which would make it difficult for them to also balance their daily activities.
