BY Nadia Ntiamoah
The Ghana Education Service (GES) has reaffirmed that the 2025/2026 academic calendar for Senior High Schools (SHS) and Senior High Technical Schools (SHTS) remains unchanged, while outlining comprehensive arrangements to support structured online and off-campus learning for students in transition schools.
The confirmation was contained in a release issued by the Public Relations Unit of the Service on January 2, 2026, and signed by the Head of Public Relations, Daniel Fenyi.
According to GES management, the clarification became necessary amid public discussions and concerns by parents, teachers and students over possible alterations to the academic calendar due to transitional arrangements under the Free SHS system and the continued use of the double-track structure in some schools.
Management stressed that the calendar issued at the beginning of the academic year remains fully in force and should be strictly adhered to by all stakeholders.
For single-track schools, Forms One and Two students are scheduled to report to school from January 5 to February 27, 2026, followed by a break from February 27 to May 3, before resuming classes from May 4 to August 21, 2026, which marks the end of the academic year.
Form Three students in single-track schools will also report on January 5 and remain in school until February 27, 2026, proceed on break from February 28 to March 13, and return from March 14 to June 21, 2026, to complete the school year.
In transitional schools, which are largely affected by infrastructural limitations and enrolment pressures, GES has provided a blended learning structure combining in-school, online and off-campus periods.
Transitional Form Three students are expected to report to school from January 5 to March 31, 2026, go on an Easter break from April 1 to April 8, and return from April 9 to June 21, 2026, to end the school year.
For Transitional Form Two students, the academic year begins with in-school learning from January 5 to March 15, 2026, followed by an online or off-campus learning period from March 16 to April 17.
Students will then go on vacation from April 18 to May 17, before resuming in-school learning from May 18 to September 4, 2026, which marks the end of the academic year.
Transitional Form One students will begin the academic year with online or off-campus learning from January 5 to January 30, 2026, proceed on vacation from January 31 to March 15, return to online or off-campus learning from March 16 to May 17, go on another vacation from May 18 to June 12, resume school from June 13 to July 2, and finally continue with in-school learning from July 3 to September 4, 2026, to conclude the academic year.
To ensure continuity in teaching and learning during the online and off-campus periods, GES announced a range of support measures for students in transition schools.
These include the use of approved projects, tasks and assignments to promote guided self-learning. Management indicated that all approved textbooks and curriculum resources for every level and subject are freely accessible on the official curriculum resources platform, curriculumresources.edu.gh.
In addition, lessons will be broadcast live daily on the Ministry of Education Television (MoE TV), available on Multi TV, to support students who may have limited access to the internet.
GES has also encouraged schools with existing Learning Management Systems (LMS) to fully operationalise them during off-campus periods, assuring such schools of institutional support.
Management emphasised that the off-campus and online learning periods are not holidays or breaks but form an integral and mandatory part of instructional time under the academic calendar.
The Service noted that the multiple learning options were deliberately introduced to ensure that every student, regardless of location or resources, can participate in teaching and learning through at least one available platform.
GES has therefore urged heads of schools, teachers, parents and guardians to take the arrangements seriously, provide supervision and support, and ensure that students actively participate in all online and off-campus learning activities.
The Service maintained that collective responsibility from all stakeholders is critical to sustaining academic progress and safeguarding learning outcomes during the transition periods.
