Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has disclosed that his outfit re-instated the trimester system for pre-tertiary institutions to satisfy the demands of teacher unions.

According to him, another reason why the Education Ministry rescinded its earlier directive to implement a semester system is that it has information which indicate that both systems are effective.

He stressed that both systems would ensure that students attend school for the same number of weeks.

“If going trimester is what would make them happy, since we are going to attain the same goal at the same number of weeks, why not? I didn’t find it difficult at all to say that I would be on the side of the teachers who believe the trimester was better,” Dr. Adutwum said on Citi TV on Monday.

He added: “In this particular instance, there is no research that says that the semester is better than a trimester. It is just used for convenience around the world. Some of these things are based on convenience. It doesn’t say that once you do a trimester, it is a silver bullet.”

The Ministry last Thursday came under heavy criticism after announcing the introduction of the semester-based system in place of the trimester one.

Relevant stakeholders in the education industry, including Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and NDC Members of Parliament opposed the decision, stating that students would be psychologically affected, therefore, demanded that the Ministry rescinds its decision.

The teacher unions revealed that they were not consulted before the semester system was announced.

After further consultation on the issue, the Minister for Education directed that the calendar for Kindergarten to Junior High School for the current academic year should be reverted to the trimester system.

Consequently, the Education Ministry announced a new date for the academic calendar of the basic schools.

The basic schools pupils will now be in school from January to April 14 for the first term and resume on May 10 to August 18 for the second term. The third term will begin from September 13 to December 22, 2022.