On February 20, 2023, all qualified candidates for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) who are admitted to senior high schools (SHSs) and technical and vocational institutes are required to report to their various schools.
New SHS Students
This is a section of the academic year schedule for all SHSs and elementary schools that the Ghana Education Service (GES) has published.
The timetable is released before the Computerized Schools Selection and Placement System releases its placements (CSSPS).
The SHS timetable is divided into two sections: one for schools using the double-track system and one for schools using a single stream.
The Double Track System
The first section of the first semester is slated to end on April 13 under the double-track system, therefore new students are required to report to class on February 20 and remain there until then.
However, students must report back to class on June 9, 2023, and stay there through August 10, when they will enjoy a second break.
After the students have finished the first year’s second semester, the last lap of the first year begins on September 18 and ends on November 30, 2023.
The schedule is a little bit different for new students who are running the single track at their schools.
For instance, although reporting on the same day as their peers in the double-track institutions, they will take a break on April 5, reconvene on April 17, and remain until their academic year ends on September 15.
In the meanwhile, Form Two students enrolled in the double-track system will leave for home on February 18 and return to class on April 11 until another vacation begins on June 1, 2023.
From August 14 to November 30, when their academic year ends, they are expected to be back in class.
Their single track peers, who started school on the same day as them, January 10, will go home on April 6, return on April 17, and stay until the conclusion of the academic year for them on August 25, 2023.
The final-year students who started classes on January 10 in both the double track and the single stream will have an 11-day break from April 6 to 16 before returning to class on April 17 until June 1 for yet another seven-day break. They will then return to class on June 9 until the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is finished on September 15, 2023.
The Transitional Academic Calendar
For the double-track institutions, the “transitional” academic calendar has been planned so that there are always two cohorts of students enrolled in classes.
Dr. Kwabena Bempah Tandoh, the Deputy Director-General of the GES responsible for Quality and Access, provided an explanation, stating that the timetable was created to guarantee that “all students will finish a minimum of 3,134 hours, averaging 1,134 hours each year” over the years.
The first term runs from January 10 to March 24 on the calendar for kindergarten, elementary, and junior high schools (JHSs), and the second term starts on April 3 and runs until June 15.
For JHS Three students, the third term runs from June 27 to the conclusion of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), which will be administered in September of this year. The third term runs from June 27 to September 14, 2023.
Directive
In a letter addressed to all regional directors of education, Dr. Tandoh requested that they make sure that all heads of basic and secondary schools in their areas were aware of the calendar and adhered with it in order to maintain the smooth operation of the academic year.
The letter congratulated all personnel a prosperous and successful year in 2023 and was headlined, “2023 Academic calendar for all Ghana Education Service schools.”