Organizing extra classes in basic schools in Ghana outside normal class hours with the aim of taking money from students has been considered to be illegal by Ghana Education Service. Teachers have been tagged by their employers that they organize the extra classes to extort monies from the poor children and their parents in the basic schools but the teachers hold a different view of this matter. This article has looked at some of the major reasons why these extra classes should not be totally abolished at our basic schools’ level but rather review or reorganize in a way that it can benefit both the teacher and the students in the class.
Extra classes help students to add to knowledge. Teachers who organized extra classes are not doing it for their own interests or to get money but rather organize it to help children who attend it to gain extra knowledge. In an extra class, more examples are been taught and children had the opportunity to learn at their own comfort. Because in normal classes the students are many sometimes it becomes difficult to deal with each student and their challenges. It is of fact that those parents who are able to afford extra classes teacher for their students do perform well in school and this can be applied to other students whose parents cannot afford for extra classes teachers in the house, so, educegh.com is pleading with the Ghana Education Service and the ministry of education to come in consultation with the teachers of the basic schools to make extra classes available to all children at this level.
Extra classes give teachers time to be able to understand the challenges and needs of their learners and get the address. During extra class hours, learners are free to ask their teachers any question they have concerning the topic. During this period teachers have enough time to get to know their learner’s problems and due to the availability of time to these teachers they are able to look at each student and their peculiar problem. Extra classes are not just meant for teachers to extort money from the students but to help them address their challenges.
Extra classes help to refresh learners’ minds when they are preparing to write an exam. Extra class hours are a good period to refresh learners’ minds during exams. During this period teachers are able to cover areas where students are not able to during normal class hours. So, teachers should be allowed by Ghana education Service to carry out extra classes in their various schools but it should be effectively monitored to ensure that the accusation that teachers organized it with the sole aim of extorting monies is no more existing.
Extra classes are organized by teachers to cover lost lessons but not actually replace them with the normal classes as other people say that teachers intentionally do not teach some topics which are meant to be taught in normal classes hours and then promise to teach it in the extra classes hour in order to get students. So, we are pleading with the Ghana Education Service and the ministry of education, and all stakeholders involved in the total upbringing of children in the basic schools level to assist teachers in this level to execute their duties properly.
![[UNVERIFIED CONTENT] Students reading in a classroom. Accra, Ghana](https://i0.wp.com/educegh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/seating-arrangement.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 "During this pandemic, these are the factors to consider when arranging seats for our learners in our schools.")
