Only 1,277 of the 7,728 potential teachers who took the license exam last month passed, according to Dr. Christian Addai-Poku, Registrar of the Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE).
Therefore, 6,481 educators failed. The figure represents 16.5 percent of the applicants who retook the exam designed to certify teaching professionals.
All of the candidates had taken the test at least twice, and some had taken it as many as nine times, according to Dr. Addai-Poku.
He explained that before the exam’s structure and content changed, those who were impacted had one more chance to retake it in the year’s final months.
Those with a first degree, according to him, would be the candidates who would fail on their final attempt and continue to retake the exam.
He stated that “those with a diploma will be required to upgrade themselves to acquire a first degree before they can resit the exam.”
“We are reforming and restructuring the examination and we will start it this year with those who have qualified to write it for the first time,” he added.
In contrast to the current exam, where candidates were tested on their literacy, numeracy, and professional skills, he claimed that this time, they would be tested in a particular field of expertise.
Dr. Addai-Poku went on to say that a candidate who wanted to teach geography had to pass a geography exam in addition to being tested in the other three areas.
The Education Act of 2008, Act 778, supported the government’s introduction of the NTLE in 2019, and the first teacher licensure exams ever were held in September 2018.
Over 28,000 newly trained teachers took the initial licensure exams in September 2018.
In order to raise the status and professional standing of teachers in the nation, the government pursued two major policies through the NTC: the introduction of teacher licenses and ongoing professional development.
