Director General of GES, Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa[/caption] The Council of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has been called upon to exercise its oversight responsibility over the Director General of the Service “and ensure there is proper planning and forecasting, leading to a definitive time table for Double Track SHS academic calendar”. In a statement issued by Africa Education Watch, a civil society group, on Monday, November 11, perennial changes made to the academic calendar of senior high schools (SHSs) make it difficult for stakeholders including parents and students to plan. And the group blames Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa for this. Since the start of the 2019/20 academic year, there has been a couple of changes to the timetable, especially for those on Double Track. The year began on Monday, September 16 for Form 2 Green Track students. They were scheduled to go on break on Tuesday, October 15. But just a day before the break, GES announced that the break has been rescheduled to Tuesday, November 12. This was to make way for Form 1 Gold Track students who were to report to school for the start of their academic year on that date. But the same GES changed that to 16th and 17th of November. This means that both Form 1 and Form 2 students on Gold Track will for the first and second time respectively have to delay their reporting schedule. “As at today, almost halfway into the 1st semester, the calendar for the second semester remains uncertain,” Africa Education Watch said in its statement. It said even though GES has found reasons for the changes, they do not bode well an efficient education system. “The existence of a definitive academic calendar is a pre-requisite for any efficient education system. “Parents especially must be certain about the academic year’s calendar at the beginning of the academic year to enable them plan adequately to prepare their children for school or to receive and cater for their children on vacation,” the statement signed by Africa Education Watch Executive Director Kofi Asare said. “We call on the GES Council to exercise its oversight responsibility over the Director General and ensure there is proper planning and forecasting, leading to a definitive time table for the Double Track SHS academic calendar. “It shall be appreciated if the GES publishes within the next two weeks, a definitive time table for the reminder of the academic year to enable adequate preparation by stakeholders.” Source: 3news.com|Ghana]]>
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