The proposal to do away with the teacher trainee licensing exams was turned down by the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG), which is led by National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer John Mahama.
Prince Obeng Himah, the President of CETAG, stated that license examinations are important and shouldn’t be eliminated.
He discussed the unique nature of teacher preparation in comparison to other professions in an interview with Citi News, emphasizing the significant influence that teachers can have—whether in a good or bad way—on entire generations.
“In my opinion, it is something that is good and it shouldn’t be cancelled. That is CETAG we have stated that we should implement what we agreed two years ago when we had a conference that the students wanting to enter the teaching profession should be subjected to entrance exams,” he stated.
In the event that he wins the presidency in the general elections of 2024, Mahama reaffirmed his promise to do away with the graduate teacher licensing exam.
On the first day of his #BuildingGhanaTour, Mahama addressed a town hall meeting in Wenchi, Bono Region, raising concerns about the need for certified teachers to retake their final exam after finishing their degrees and becoming educators before obtaining a teaching license.
The NDC leader restated the party’s commitment to do away with the teacher licensure test for College of Education graduates in response to a query from a teacher candidate during the town hall meeting.
Section 9 of the Education Act, 2008 (Act 778) mandates that the National Teaching Council (NTC) license and register teachers in Ghana and work to elevate the professional status and standing of educators in the country.
The NDC also declared its intention to increase the retention premium for teachers, train and motivate teachers and caregivers in special schools, reinstate the automatic employment of newly trained teachers, and offer special incentives for teachers who accept postings to rural and underprivileged communities under the section on “Teacher Motivation” in the manifesto.
In September 2018, the first-ever teacher licensure test was administered.
The exam’s goals are to provide qualified educators with the means to obtain a professional license and to draw exceptional recent graduates from education-focused universities and colleges who possess the professional knowledge, abilities, and dispositions needed to teach in classrooms.
