In a press release copied to several media houses, the Ministry of Education says it has decided after it engaged with a section of the public and critical educational stakeholders to reinstate the trimester system for basic schools.
In the reinstated system, the academic year will start on January 18 and end on April 14, 2022, for the first term, with a vacation from April 15 to May 9, 2022. The second term starts from May 10 to August 18, 2022, with a vacation from August 19 to September 12, 2022. The third term would commence on September 13 to December 22, 2022.
Last year, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education, constituted a Ministerial Committee on Academic Calendar for schools headed by Deputy Minister of Education, John Ntim Fordjour. The Committee was to come up with an academic calendar for public schools, looking at examinations, vacations and reopening dates from 2022 to 2024.
The Committee had representation from the Ministry, GES, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). The new calendar developed by the Committee introduced a semester system for primary schools to replace the trimester system. However, the new system received objections from some stakeholders, including teacher unions.
They said the extended stay and contact hours in the semester practice would adversely affect the health of students and teachers.
