Features
Semester versus term system in second cycle institutions
Different educational systems are usually developed and implemented by countries to ensure that trainees, both young and old, are properly developed with the adequate knowledge and skills they need to enable them provide socioeconomic development for the people in their countries.
In the United Kingdom (UK) for example, the system of education may be different from the United States (US) but at the end of the day it is the implementation of the knowledge and skills that are needed to develop the respective countries.
USING DIFFERENT IDEAS
The two countries or any other country may, therefore, have to use its own ideas to groom its young ones to come out as scholars who can meet the challenges of life and build their countries to become prosperous entities.
THE SEMESTER SYSTEM
The decision of the Ministry of Education to change its position on the implementation of the semester system to that of the term system was the result of disagreements between the Ministry on one hand and the Teacher Unions on the other.
To begin with, a semester system is where the academic year is divided into two main portions, that is, first and second semesters, while the term system usually uses three portions of time for the academic year.
SEMESTER AND TERM SYSTEMS
The semester system usually consists of about 16 weeks while the term system is also made up of about 12 weeks. In either case, each of the systems covers the academic calendar to ensure that adequate preparations are made for students or pupils.
These different systems are used in various parts of the world depending on the preference of the school authorities.
DISAGREEMENTS
The Ministry of Education in Ghana had wanted to introduce the semester system for schools operating under the Ghana Education Service but members of the teacher unions had some disagreements with the change over.
Many of them said the shift from the term system to the semester system was a major change in policy for which they should have been consulted. The Ministry on its part stated that some consultations were made.
OPPOSITION TO NEW SYSTEM
Probably the consultations did not go down well with the teacher unions, hence the decision to oppose it.
CONSULTATIONS
In such change overs, we wish to encourage the ministry to ensure that the teachers are adequately consulted for their views so that they will become part of the programme.
Adequate consultation is necessary because it allows for ventilation of views on the subject matter. In addition, all disagreements can be ironed out before the implementation of the programme.
Again, adequate consultation ensures that stakeholders feel to have become part of the new system thereby owning it. Once there is a sense of ownership, the stakeholders will be more willing to embrace its implementation to the letter.
There is no doubt that the Ministry of Education meant well for all stakeholders in the education sector. The disagreement over the semester system only shows that the stakeholders felt that they were not adequately consulted over the matter.
ABSENCE OF MALICE
Similarly, the teacher unions which opposed the semester system that was to be introduced could not have acted out of malice. Rather, all the stakeholders acted in good faith but in matters of this nature, we all need to ensure that there is a common understanding of the issues at stake to avert any possible confusion and disagreement.
PROBLEMS WITH NEW SYSTEMS
The introduction of new systems have always brought about such problems.
Many years ago, all institutions of learning, higher and lower, were running the term system until it became necessary for our tertiary institutions to adopt the semester system for some good reason.
Before the adoption by the tertiary institutions, there was a little confusion as to why the change to the semester system, but today, it has become an adopted norm for institutions of higher learning. What did the trick was the sensitisation and education of authorities at the tertiary level to understand, appreciate and accept the new system.
Similarly, teacher unions operating under the Ghana Education Service would want adequate exchange of views on the new system so that they can appreciate the justification for the change over.
WORKING TOGETHER
The Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service and all institutions at the primary and second cycle levels must continue to work together with all stakeholders so that at the end of it all, the country will benefit from the implementation of systems that are meant to bring about quality education in the country.
Contact email/ahatsApp of author:
Pradmat2013@gmail.com (0553318911)
BY DR. KOFI AMPONSAH BEDIAKO
This week I have a very strong desire to put on my Apostolic Cap and talk about the power available to children of God which we can utilise to generate positive outcomes, in our lives.
There is a phrase in the Bible that if Christians meditate on, can immensely transform their lives. In Matthew 28:6 there is a phrase “… as he said…” according to the King James Version.
Thus phrase forms part of a statement declared by an angel of God to two women who were disciples of Jesus who had gone to his tomb early in the morning on the third day after his death.
According to the Biblical account, the stone covering the entrance of the tomb had been rolled away and an Angel was sitting on it and he made the statement to the effect that the Jesus they are seeking is not there and that he had risen, as he said before his death.
His resurrection affirmed the authenticity and dependability of the word of Jesus and therefore the word of God.
Christianity has to do with faith in the word of God. Pastor Mensa Otabil said if we view Christianity as an inside out view, you would go inside to operate the power that is in you.
As a Christian, the spirit of God and therefore the power of God, dwells in you. Anyone who is aware of this truth, does not go around seeking to have a so called powerful person resolve his or her spiritual issues.
Most Christians who move from prophet to prophet, do not believe that the spirit of God which operates in a Pastor or Prophet, is the same spirit that dwells in him or her.
In fact , that Christian may be more ‘powerful’ than the Prophet or Pastor he is going to for prayers because he is living a holy life, which is pleasing to God, for God is no respecter of persons according to Acts 10:34-35.
God does not give out his spirit in different measures to indwell believers. The spirit of God that dwells in a new convert, is the same spirit that dwells in a Bishop or a Prophet or an Evangelist or an Elder or a Deacon.
All you need to do as a child of God is to believe in the word of God and know that it works and that according to 1 John 4:4 we, Christians, that the Spirit of God dwells in us have overcome the world and Jesus in us, is greater than the Devil who is out in the world, wrecking havoc all around.
If we realise that we have overcome the Devil and everything he controls, then we can believe and act in faith and make declarations and just as Christ declared that he will die and on the third day, he will rise from the dead and it manifested as he said, there shall be a manifestation of our declarations also.
The problem of modern day Christians is that, a lot of them, do not study and meditate on the word of God, so they do not witness the manifestation of the power of God, in their lives.
Such an experience over time, give them the impression that the spirit of God dwells in different dimensions in believers. This then leads them to seek solutions to their challenges from so called powerful men of God.
Some Pastors also fall into this misconception of the measure of the spirit of God in believers. When the size of a Pastor’s church for instance, is not increasing the way he had been praying for self-doubt sometimes begin to set in.
Especially, if he begins to compare his church with that of say a colleague from the same Bible School, then he begins to wonder if there is not a spiritual secret he is not aware of.
This is when, if care is not taken, fellow Pastors who appears to be very successful in the ministry but are using occultic powers, could sway them from the narrow path and get them trapped in the Devil’s clutches and eventually and inevitably, destroy their lives. God bless.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
Introduction
You have been there. Twenty tabs open comparing laptops. A blank page for an email you’ve been “thinking about” for three days. A menu with 30 options and you leave hungry.
This is decision paralysis: the state where the volume of information, options, or perceived stakes prevents you from making a decision at all. It’s not laziness. It’s a cognitive overload response.
In a data-rich environment, it’s becoming the default mode for both individuals and organisations.
This article breaks down why it happens, how it shows up, what it costs, and how to break it.
1. What decision paralysis actually is?
Decision paralysis is a failure of the decision-making system to convert information into action. Psychologists call it ‘analysis paralysis’ or ‘choice overload.’
It has three components:
1. Cognitive overload: Working memory can hold between four to seven chunks of information at once. When you try to track 20 variables, the system freezes.
2. Anticipatory regret: You overestimate the pain of making the wrong choice. The brain avoids the emotional cost by avoiding the choice.
3. Ambiguity aversion: Humans prefer known risks over unknown ones. When outcomes are uncertain, we stall.
The result is not neutral. Not deciding is a decision. It costs time, momentum, and opportunity
2. Why it’s getting worse now
2.1 Infinite options
Amazon has 350 million products. Netflix has 6000+ titles. Dating apps have unlimited profiles. The paradox of choice: more options increase initial satisfaction but decrease final satisfaction and increase regret.
2.2 Information abundance without synthesis
You can find 50 studies on sleep. Each one has caveats, conflicting results, and different methodologies. Without a framework to integrate them, more data creates more confusion, not clarity. This connects directly to the “data-rich, wisdom-poor” problem.
2.3 Reversibility anxiety
In the digital age, most decisions feel permanent. A bad post goes viral. A bad hire is public on LinkedIn. A bad career move is visible. The fear of irreversible error makes people delay.
2.4 Algorithmic mirroring
Platforms show you what you already engage with. This creates an illusion that there’s one ‘best’ option you are missing. You keep searching, convinced the optimal choice is one more scroll away.
3. How it shows up
Personal Level
Cannot pick a career path after six months of ‘research’
Spend two hours choosing a movie and watch nothing
Delay sending an email because it ‘isn’t perfect’
3.1 Organisational level
Teams spend 80 per cent of time in meetings gathering data, 20 per cent deciding
Product teams delay launch waiting for “one more data point”
KPIs multiply but no strategic choice is made
3.2 Common cognitive tells:
Endless comparison tables
Asking for one more opinion
Reframing the problem instead of solving it
Feeling drained after thinking but not acting
By Robert Ekow Grimmond-Thompson
