Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum

First-year Senior High School (SHS) students who are awaiting their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results will report to school on December 4, 2023.

The date, which is for both single and double track students, was contained in the 2023/2024 academic calendar for pre-tertiary institutions in the country released by the Ghana Education Service (GES).

Meanwhile, Forms Two and Three students under the single track system are to report to school today, November 1.

Form One students

Per the transitional calendar for double track students, Form One students will be in school from December 4, 2023, to March 5, 2024.

 They will, however, return to school on May 13, 2024, until July 9, 2024.

They are due to go on break again on July 10, 2024, and reopen on September 3 up to November 15, 2024, when the academic year ends.

On the other hand, single track students will report to school on December 4 until March 15, 2024, and go on vacation from March 16, 2024, to May 2, 2024.

The second semester will begin from May 3, 2024, until August 28, 2024, when the academic calendar will end.

Form 2 and Form 3 students

Form Two and Form Three students under the single track system will report to school today until March 5, 2024, and begin the end of the first semester break from March 6 to May 2, 2024.

They will return to school on May 3, 2024, to begin the second semester up to August 28, 2024 to end the academic year.

However, Form Two students under the double track system will have to wait until March 8, 2024, to begin the first semester until May 9, 2024, to end the semester.

The second semester will begin on July 12, 2024, until November 15, 2024, when the academic year would come to an end.

It is significant to note that the Christmas break will be from December 21, 2023, to January 2, 2024, while the Easter break will be between March 29 and April 16, 2024.

Form Three students

Form Three students under the double track will also begin their first semester on January 3, 2024, to March 28, 2024, to end the first semester.

Their second semester begins from April 17 until August 23, 2024.

However, for Form Three students under the single track system, the first semester begins today, November 1, 2023, and ends on March 5, 2024, while the second semester is from May 3, 2024 to August 28, 2024, when they will complete school.

Basic schools

Per the calendar, basic schools will be in session for 12 weeks from October 3 to December 22, 2023.

They will go on vacation from December 23, 2023 to January 8, 2024.

They will then resume for the second term for 14 weeks from January 9, 2024 to April 11, 2024.

They will go on vacation from April 12 to 29, 2024. 

The students will return to school on April 30 for the third term which will last for 13 weeks, during which period Form Three students will write the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in July 2024.

However, Form One and Form Two students will be in school from April 30 to July 25, 2024.

In all, the students are to have a total of 39 weeks of contact.

Feasible calendar

Asked how feasible the calendar is, the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Dr Eric Nkansah, gave an assurance that everything would go on smoothly as scheduled.

He said the GES had put in place a strategy that would fast-track the Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), hence the December 4 reporting date for the first-year students was plausible.

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