New Directives from GES On Academic Calendar Leaves Headmasters Confused

– Rodney Franklin

Headmasters/Headmistresses across the country have been left confused by the new directive from the Management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) on the reopening and vacation dates for Senior High School (SHS) students. In a circular to all heads of schools and copied to the Ministry of Education, the GES instructs heads of schools to take note of the changes in the reopening and vacation dates for their students. The source of the confusion is the mix of dates for Single Track and Double Track students which the heads find disorderly.

According to the GES directive, SHS 3 students under both the Single and Double Track system are to report to school on the 5^th of May 2021. Meanwhile, SHS 2 students in the Green Category under the Double Track system as well as their colleagues under the Single track system are to report to school on the 1^st of June 2021, whilst SHS 2 students in the Gold Category under the Double Track system go on vacation on the 29^th of May, 2021. For the first year students under the Double Track system in the Green Category, they are to go on vacation on the 15^th of June 2021 whilst their counterparts in under the Single Track system go on vacation on 16^th of July, 2021.

All these jumbles of dates for reopening and vacation has court the ire of some heads of institutions who find the directive puzzling.

In a chat with a headmaster of a Senior High School in the Greater Accra region who wants to remain anonymous for fear of victimization, he bemoaned the haphazard nature the GES is going about putting together a credible and easy-to-follow academic calendar.