It’s unlawful to close at 2pm – Nsowah tells teachers

The Chairman of Ghana Education Service (GES) Council, Michael Nsowah has described as remarkable the Education Minister’s decision to enforce what he says is the standardized hours for teaching and learning activities at the basic school level.

Education Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh proposed as part of reforms for the sector, the revision of closing hours from the current 2 pm to 4 pm.

The extension of the closing time for pupils at first cycle institutions attracted some mixed reactions from some parents and guardians after the hint by the Minister.

While the state’s move has been welcomed by a section of the public, many stakeholders in the sector believe the amount of time to be spent by basic schools is excessive and unnecessary.

But, Mr Nsowah in an interview with Fiifi Banson on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.5 FM said the proposal by the Minister is not alien to the system, as basic schools, according to him, must devote a minimum of 9 hours for school activities daily.

For him, the move is a positive step forward regarding the “effectiveness of our school system”.

“There is no law prescribing that schools should close at 2:00 pm. The law governing our school system says school hours should be from 8:00 am-4:00 pm. Education officials have just relaxed the system in the past that is why we see all these things happening.

“What happened was that as part of the education reforms in 1987, we decided that from 2 pm, it’ll be meaningful to give teachers a breather in teaching so that they could have a break from teaching and rather spend time to research, do their marking, and also do other non-teaching or extra-curricula activities, so that by 4 pm school closes. So the Minister is not introducing anything new, it is already part of the system.”