Double-Track

• Contact hours between teacher and student will increase, enabling teachers to have more time to complete the syllabus.
• Schools will use the same infrastructure to enrol more students.
• Teacher vacation periods will increase (from 12 weeks to 16 weeks)
• The double-track school calendar will reduce congestion in schools and this will lead to a reduction in class sizes

Ghana joins countries like USA, Japan China, Australia, Brazil, France and Costa Rica across the world to adopt the system, also known as Year-Round Education (YRE).

The policy of Government is that ‘no qualified child should be left behind’. According to our 2018 projections, there is the need to create 181,993 extra spaces to accommodate the high number of students projected to enrol in our senior high schools in the 2018/19 academic year. The Double-track School Calendar is an innovative intervention that will create the room to accommodate the projected increase in enrolment.

It is proposed that the Double-track School Calendar will begin with the 2018/2019 academic year.

No. The Double-track School Calendar will only be adopted in schools that are in high demand across the country, where considerable congestion is expected to continue. A list of the selected schools will be communicated.

Students will be informed by the computer placement system (CSSPS) on the following:

• Which track the student belongs to (Green Track or Gold Track)
• Reopening dates
• The contact information at the school where the student has been placed.

A semester is when an academic year is divided into two; usually between 16 and 18-weeks. Currently, universities in Ghana use the semester system, while basic and high schools use the three-term (or trimester) system. With a semester system at the high school level, Ghana will move closer to a uniform system across all levels of education. The new system will easily align with the university system, and facilitate the transition from senior high school to university.

The semester system also provides an opportunity to adopt a Double-Track School Calendar.

All senior high schools and all year groups from Year One through Year Three will adopt the proposed semester system.

Even though the three-term system has more teaching days (180) than the semester system (162), the semester system increases contact hours between teacher and student. The term system has six (6) teaching hours a day, but the semester system proposes to have seven (7) hours of teaching in a day.

This means that, the three-term system has a total of 1,080 contact hours each academic year, while the semester system yields 1,134 contact hours each academic year, amounting to 54 hours more under the semester system.

Yes. Every school and all levels of students (SHS 1 to SHS 3) will transition to the semester system. However, SHS 2 and SHS 3 will not be affected by the Double-track School Calendar. They will maintain a single-track school calendar. That means the entire year group will begin and end every semester at the same time.

No. Ghana has a unique senior high school experience with over 60% of our high schools being boarding schools. This makes it impossible to run the old ‘shift’ system. The Double-Track School Calendar is the most efficient option.

Government is working with private schools to establish an enabling environment. Most private schools are for-profit and the law (Article 25(2) of the 1992 constitution) clearly prohibits the use of public funds to support a private entity.

Additionally, private schools that wish to be absorbed should meet the minimum requirements set by the Ghana Education Service. In 2018, 15 of such schools were absorbed into the public education sector.

Government continues to build and expand infrastructure in schools. This year, 13,200 new places have been created in senior high schools. This was made possible partly through the absorption of 15 private senior high schools and 1 private technical and vocational school into the public sector.

Further, this year the government will operationalise 13 of the SEIP E-block structures it has completed.

Construction of infrastructure across the country is ongoing.

The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) is securing a $500million facility to enable it undertake infrastructural expansion work in senior high schools across the country.

The double-track school calendar would be phased out, while the semester system will remain for all senior high schools.

No. The Ghana Education Service will engage over 8,000 more qualified teachers, due to the increase in enrolment. This will allow teachers to stay on one track and enjoy holidays with their students.