Delay in releasing academic calendar very regrettable-SAME Foundation Ghana

The leadership of the Shakers and Movers Educational Foundation-SAME Foundation has indicated that the delay on the part of the leadership of Ghana Education Service to release the Academic Calendar for all pre-tertiary schools barely two weeks to resumption for schools, is deeply regrettable and inexcusable.

The Chairman of the NGO was reacting to the release by the Director-General of GES in his attempt to justify the delay in releasing the academic calendar for 2022.

Mr. Al-Hassan Kodwo Baidoo expressed his shock to hear that the D-G had set up a Ministerial Committee for the purposes of bringing out a comprehensive academic calendar.

Unless otherwise indicated that the Committee’s work will be of no cost to the State, he is of the opinion that drawing up an academic calendar should not require a Ministerial Committee when there is indeed a whole directorate of Planning and Evaluation, the Chairman noted.

Which data is the Ministerial Committee working with, what is the scope of the data and where did that data come from, the Chairman of SAME Foundation questioned.

Mr. Baidoo, a consummate educational leader and a teacher is pleading with the leadership of GES to work assiduously around the clock to release the 2022 academic calendar as soon as practicable. These delays affect the school-community stakeholders and school-related business operators.

An academic calendar is to keep students, faculty, and staff reminded of key dates throughout the academic semester and year. It can also be useful for prospective students, alumni, and parents as well.

The Calendar provides guidelines to teachers on the use of various technological tools and social media tools available for imparting education in fun-filled, interesting ways, and therefore the delays may affect effective planning of lessons especially by Private schools teachers who rely heavily on enhanced technologies for learning.

The Chairman of SAME Foundation lamented that pre-tertiary schools and teachers are already suffering from the too many reforms thrown about by GES. He noted that in most cases and for the past three years, even before a proposed reform is implemented, another reform is announced to reform the earlier proposed reforms.

These adhoc measures could be the reason why pre-tertiary schools have for the past three years been without textbooks. Hopefully, it is my expectation that the Committee will also advise correspondingly the release and supplies of textbooks to schools to enhance teaching and learning and eventually test grades.

Mr. Baidoo is calling on the Ministerial Committee to do all it could to churn out an academic calendar that will cure the injustices in the educational sector, and make it a thing of the past that students will never vacate without knowing when they are to return to school or be in school without knowing when they will vacate.