The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has directed heads of Senior High Schools not to summon final-year students back to school for the completion of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) registration.

According to Dr Eric Nkansah, the GES has learned that some Form 3 students already on vacation have been asked to return to school to complete their WASSCE registration.

He clarified that once classes resume on Wednesday, April 17, students will be given sufficient time to complete the registration process.

“We want to say unequivocally that no student should be asked to come back to school to complete the WASSCE registration. The reason is that by the time they come back to school on 17th April, they will have enough time to be able to complete their registration.

“So headmasters should note that no student should be asked to come back to school because we know that some of them are living far away and are enjoying their vacations at home – so they are not expected to come back to school to complete the registration until school reopens on 17th of April.”

He said this while addressing the press in Accra on Tuesday, April 2 after the three teacher unions withdrew their industrial strike which started on March 20, 2024.

Dr. Nkansah assured that his outfit was collaborating with the West African Examination Council to ensure that students are given sufficient time to complete the registration process.

He emphasised that there have been speculations regarding an increase in the WASSCE registration fee, which has been set at GH₵465.

However, the GES Director-General clarified that students under the Free SHS programme are not mandated to make any payments for registration as the programme caters for their registration.

“All students with our government secondary schools under the Free SHS programme are not required to pay that GH₵465 because that money is already absorbed by the Free SHS programme,” he said. 

Read also: Teacher unions call-off 2-week old strike

On the decision by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) to call off their strike, he described the move as a step in the right direction.

“This is pleasant news indeed, I want to take the opportunity and applaud them for calling off this strike to pave the way for us to continue with negotiations.

“As we have indicated time and again as management of the Ghana Education Service, we will continue to work in the interest of our staff and our learners.”