The first semester of the 2020/2021 academic year has ended for newly admitted and final year students of the University of Ghana.
It ends on Sunday, 21st March, 2021, after 9 weeks of academic activities, including the two-week period for examinations.
Some students have described the period as hectic as academic activity which, hitherto, was undertaken in about 13 weeks was forced into the 9 weeks.
“This semester has not been easy considering the fact that you are supposed to learn what you’d normally do in 10 weeks within 6 weeks. Also considering the fact that lecturers didn’t consider the mental health of the students; some of us had 9 assignments to submit within 6 weeks and in the period, we had IAs and a final exam which was onsite. So what we mainly did was just to submit assignments and get ready for exams without any serious learning for future use,” Joseph Ansong, a final year Psychology student told UniversNews.
These two groups of students are expected to report back on campus between Thursday, June 17, and Sunday, June 20, 2021, for the start of their second semester of the academic year.
Meanwhile, the University is preparing to receive its students who are in their second and third years of their undergraduate programme.
The portal for academic registration has already been opened and they are expected to report on campus between Thursday April 1, 2021 and Sunday, April 4, 2021.
Ahead of their return, a disinfection exercise has been planned by university authorities to ensure that these students return to a safe environment despite the rise in COVID infections.
Why the modular system?
University authorities have explained that the decision to run a modular system for the 2020/2021 academic year is a result of the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Mrs. Lydia Nyarko-Danquah, who is the head of the teaching and examinations unit at the Academic Affairs Directorate, in an earlier interview told Univers News that the decision was aimed at reducing COVID spread among members of the University community.
“We are running the double-track because we care about our students’ health. Covid is with us and we cannot take it for granted. We are running it so we keep to the protocols, keep our students safe and make sure that our students also get the quality that they need,” Mrs Nyarko-Danquah said.
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Credit: Radio Univers