Teacher unions raise concern over semester system for public schools
New calendar here to stay, Deputy Education Minister
The ministry of education announced the commencement of a new academic year for public schools on January 18, 2022.
The new calendar has been modelled on a semester basis.
However, this decision has been met with various concerns and criticisms from Ghanaians, including some teacher unions who have called for the reversal of the new system.
Some of the unions are;
Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT)
The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT),
The Coalition of Concerned Teachers, Ghana
Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU)
In a press release by the Unions in Education, which includes the above listed unions, they called for an immediate reversal as the policy change should have attracted a wide consultation.
They also argued that the decision was an imposition by the GES on major stakeholders.
“The Unions in Education sees the decision taken to unilaterally change the school calendar into a semester one as arbitrary and an imposition by the GES on major stakeholders of which the Unions in Education are part,” they said in the joint press release.
However, the deputy minister of education, Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, insisted that the newly introduced academic calendar will not be changed.
“The calendar is efficient and we are not going to change it. It is what we are going to work with. It will stand the test of time; it will be beneficial and useful to everyone at the end of the day,” he stated.
The deputy minister refuted claims that government did not engage in consultation.
He however indicated that government is willing to further engage any group or individual with concerns.
“If they have any further suggestions, they can come for us to sit and discuss as we always do. The back and forth on the media will not help. But then I would want to emphasize that they were adequately and sufficiently consulted. They were the ones that called for the semester system because it will help them,” he stated.
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