Deputy Director-General for Quality and Access of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has explained why Senior High School form 2 students have undertaken only one end of semester examination since they enrolled in 2019.

According to Dr Kwabena Bempah Tandoh, the development is a result of the Covid-19 pandemic that hit the country last year.

This comment was part of responses he gave to various concerns raised by parents on Joy FM's Super Morning Show about the free Senior High School programme which has been in effect since 2017.

Dr Bempah Tandoh said "these students began school in September 2019. The first exam they took was in December 2019. When they came back to school for their 2nd Semester, they couldn't fully complete academic work and there was an emergency to shut down all schools because of the outbreak of Covid-19 in March, 2020."

Touching on concerns regarding a reduction in contact hours between students and teachers as a result of the double track system, Dr Tandoh said, the difference is only two weeks, "students spent 8 months, two weeks under the trimester calendar, while those enrolled under the current semester calendar spend 8 months."

Giving a breakdown, he said, "under the old trimester calendar, teachers were teaching for 6 hours a day. However, students under the double-track system spend 3,240 contact hours before they sit for their final exam at the end of the three-year period."

He further addressed concerns raised in relation to poor quality of food, inadequate infrastructure as well as furniture. The Deputy Director General gave the assurance that government will resolve these challenges.