Reopening date for form 1 SHS students too close, will put undue burden on everyone – Teacher Unions

The Pre-Tertiary Teacher Unions in Ghana have expressed concerns over the due date for reporting and reopening of first year students in Senior High Schools (SHS).

Following the release of the Computerised Schools Selection Process (CSSP) on Tuesday, 28 November 2023, first year SHS students are expected to report to school on Monday, 4 December 2023.

But in a letter addressed to the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) on Wednesday, 29 November 2023 co-signed by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Coalition of Concerned Teachers-Ghana (CCT-GH) and the Teachers' and Educational Workers' Union (TEWU), the teacher unions noted the announced date for the reporting of first year students “appears not practicable due to the fact that, the placement and reopening dates are too close”.

According to the Unions, asking form 1 students to report to school on the 4 th December only for them to go home again on 21 December 2023, for the Christmas holidays, will put “undue burden on students, staff and parents”.

The unions indicated that the vacation period which spans from 21 December, 2023 to 2 January 2024 “is too limited a time to offer members of staff (both Teaching and non-Teaching) any meaningful rest”.

They therefore called on the management of the GES to “reconsider all these situations and effect changes to the dates”.