GES Delays Vacation Of Basic Schools; This Is Why

The Ghana Education Service has delayed the vacation of all public basic schools across the country to enable primary four pupils to write National Standardised Test.

The said National Standardised Test is scheduled to be written on Friday, 16th December 2022, which delays the vacation by one day. The basic schools were originally scheduled to have vacated on Thursday, December 14.

“The vacation date for Public Basic Schools for Third Term has been shifted to Friday 16th December 2022.

“This is to enable the Primary Four (P4) pupils to write the National Standardised Test on Friday, 16th December 2022,” GES said in a statement on Wednesday, December 14.

Despite the delay in the vacation, the GES said that the reopening date for the basic schools remains unchanged.

“Re-opening date for the First Term of the next academic year is 10th January 2022,” the statement added.

A letter by the Director of the Division of Schools and Instructions of GES, Patty Assan directs all heads of the various public basic schools to abide by the impromptu change.

“By this letter, Regional Directors are kindly requested to communicate this information to the Metro/Municipal/District Directors of Education to inform all Heads of Basic Schools to take note and act accordingly,” the letter said.

Meanwhile, about 44,000 teachers have failed the mandatory Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE).

The Registrar for the National Teaching Council, Dr Christian Addai-Poku disclosed this at the 2022/23 Cohort – Leading Girls’ Learning Programme town hall meeting organized by the Institute of Teacher Education and Development (INTED).

He lamented that the results of the examinations were worrying, considering the poor performance of the teachers who were supposed to be imparting knowledge to children.

The NTLE was introduced by the government in 2019 backed by the Education Act of 2008, Act 778, with the first-ever teacher licensure exams taking place in September 2018.

The introduction of teacher licenses and continuous professional development were key policies being pursued by the government through the NTC, aimed at improving the professional standing and status of teachers in the country.
 

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