Dr. Adutwum Assures that the Trimester System in Basic Schools will Remain Unchanged
On Wednesday, the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, made an appearance in parliament to update the House on the current state of Ghana’s education system and also address queries from members of parliament.
During his speech, Dr. Adutwum made it clear that the Ministry has no plans of switching from the current trimester system to a semester system in basic education.
“In 2022, the Ghana Education Service attempted to change the trimester system to a semester system, but this was met with opposition,” he explained. “Thus, the Ministry has no intention of implementing the semester system at the basic education level.”
This was in response to a question posed by Mr. Vincent Ekow Assafuah, the MP for Old Tafo (NPP), who inquired whether the Ministry would reintroduce the semester system and the measures taken to ensure agreement between stakeholders and the Ministry.
Dr. Adutwum, who also serves as the MP for Bosomtwe for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), added that the teacher unions were not in support of the semester system because it was too lengthy and would not promote adequate learning and teaching among students
Basic Schools 2023 Academic Calendar
The academic calendar for basic schools in 2023 has been announced, with the first term vacation scheduled from March 25th to April 2nd. Junior School, Primary, and Kindergarten pupils are expected to resume school on April 3rd for the start of the second semester.
The second term runs from April 3rd to June 15th, with a break from June 16th to June 26th. The third term runs from June 27th to September 14th.
As the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) approaches, JHS 3 pupils have been advised to focus more on their studies.
Registration for the BECE will officially open on March 27th and close on April 28th, according to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).