The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, is urging the Ministry of Education not to insist that students and parents comply with the December 4 reporting date for first-year senior high school students.
This comes after the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, justified the government’s decision to maintain December 4, 2023, as the reporting date for the students.
After an address to Parliament by the Education Minister, the Speaker reiterated the need for students and parents to be offered ample time to make preparations for school.
“We can no longer insist that the December 4 date be shifted to the first week in January because the students are already in school, but we will ask the [Education] Ministry and GES to take this into consideration and not insist that the students and parents should comply with some of the requirements within this shortest possible time. They should give them enough room to be able to fill in seamlessly so that we can have a smooth academic year.”
Parents and other relevant stakeholders had called for an extension of the reporting date, citing various reasons, but the Ghana Education Service (GES) insisted on the December 4 date.
Parliament also called on the Minister of Education to consider rescheduling the reopening date to the first week of January instead of Monday, December 4.
The students reported to school on Monday, December 4, and are expected to go on vacation on December 22.