Commentary

Good decision, no more Semester for Pupils

By Dr. Kofi Amponsah Bediako, Development Communications Consultant

The decision of the Ministry of Education to change its position on the implementation of the Semester system to that of the Term system was the result of disagreements between the Ministry on one hand and the Teacher Unions on the other. To begin with, a Semester system is where the academic year is divided into two main portions, that is, first and second semester, while the Term system usually uses three portions of time for the academic year.

The Semester system usually consists of about sixteen weeks while the term system is also made up of about twelve weeks. In either case, each of the systems cover the academic calendar to ensure that adequate preparations are made for Students or Pupils. These different systems are used in various parts of the world depending on the preference of the school authorities. The Ministry of Education in Ghana had wanted to introduce the Semester system for schools operating under the Ghana Education system but members of the teacher unions had some disagreements with the change. Many of them said the shift from the Term system to the Semester system was a major change in policy for which they should have been consulted. The Ministry on its part stated that some consultations were made. Probably the consultations did not go down well with the Teacher Unions, hence the decision to oppose it.

In such change overs, we wish to encourage the Ministry to ensure that the teachers are adequately consulted for their views so that they will become part of the programme. Adequate consultation is necessary because it allows for ventilation of views on the subject matter. In addition, all disagreements can be ironed out before the implementation of the programme. Again, adequate consultation ensures that stakeholders feel to have become part of the new system thereby owning it. Once there is a sense of ownership, the stakeholders will be more willing to embrace its implementation to the letter. There is no doubt that the Ministry of Education meant well for all stakeholders in the education sector. The disagreement over the semester system only shows that the stakeholders felt that they were not adequately consulted over the matter. Similarly, the teacher unions which opposed the semester system that was to be introduced could not have acted out of malice. Rather, all the stakeholders acted in good faith but in matters of this nature, we all need to ensure that there is a common understanding of the issues at stake to avert any possible confusion and disagreement. The introduction of new systems have always brought about such problems. Several years ago, all institutions of learning, higher and lower, were running the term system until it became necessary for our tertiary institutions to adopt the semester system for some good reason.

Before the adoption by the tertiary institutions, there was a little confusion as to why the change to the semester system, but today, it has become an adopted norm for institutions of higher learning. What did the trick was the sensitisation and education of authorities at the tertiary level to understand, appreciate and accept the new system. Similarly, teacher unions operating under the Ghana Education Service would want adequate exchange of views on the new system so that they can appreciate the justification for the change. The Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service and all institutions at the primary and second cycle levels must continue to work together with all stakeholders so that at the end of it all, the country will benefit from the implementation of systems that are meant to bring about quality education.