BACKGROUND
The media waves have been inundated these few festive days with cacophonous utterances by our Education Managers, leaving me with the feeling that either they are being deliberately dishonest and deceitful in what they churn out to Ghanaians on education, or they are simply confused.
The ruling party had just emerged from their National Delegates Congress and rather than discuss
their congress issues, John Mahama rather has effectively set the agenda for their communicators and Ministers in the media.
It’s not surprising though, judging from the fact that, John Mahama’s name had been mentioned at the Sunday 22nd December congress more than that of the Ellembele Opportunist, Walewale Adam Smith, Oga the President, and even Mawuga, the Sogbolisa Himself. John Mahama has become *a flu* to them and when he sneezes, the whole government machinery catches the cold.
Of late Mahama has constantly been accused by one government official or the other of having no message for Ghanaians. Then Mahama dropped just a few of his messages during his Facebook encounter with Ghanaians on Christmas Eve. Key among these were:
1. *cancellation of the teacher licensure examinations*
2. *cancellation of the double track*
3. *appointment of a Deputy Minister for TVET.*
These have rattled the ears of his opponents and swept them off their feet like a tsunami. Two Deputy Ministers of Education hurriedly arranged for a Press Conference to again discuss John Mahama, whom they claim has no message.
Earlier, the ever non performing NaCCA Boss, Prince Hamid Armah, who teachers are still waiting for to supply text books to the schools for the new curriculum, and Ekow Vincent Assifuah, PRO of the MoE, went berserk, attacking John Mahama using blatant lies as their arsenals.
*Licensure Examininations*.
Like the *Comprehensive Sexual Education, CSE,* which Ghanaians had forced the MoE and government to retreat from (they even lied they copied the idea from John Mahama), a Deputy Minister of Education attempted to again blame John Mahama for their unpopular decision on licensure exams.
Dr Yaw Adutwum, whom I have had so much respect for among the group all this while, said at his press conference that the licensure examination was piloted by John Mahama’s NDC and they, the Ministry and the NPP found it good to roll out. Whaaaaat!! The so called *Competent people* copying from the one they have called *Incompetent?* Dr Adutwum flagged a newspaper headline attributed to the then GES Director General, Jacob Kor, that NDC was going to pilot the *licensing of teachers* in the Krobo and Kassena Nankana districts in 2016/2017 academic year. Sadly, Dr Adutwum chose to flag a photocopy of a newspaper *headline* rather than the *content* of that newspaper publication. Beside deliberately hiding the content of that newspaper headline because it might expose their mischief, my hitherto much respected Deputy Minister disappointed me and other listeners big time, by equating *licensing of teachers* with *licensure examinations.* What a tragedy!! What an embarrassing confusion! Are the two the same and one thing? Did John Mahama propose a licensure examination in his pilot?
If Dr. Adutwum should join the confused lot of our Education Managers as he has done now, then I dare say Ghana’s education is doomed. Licensing being equated to examination?
• Can Dr Adutwum show us a sample of the licensure examination questions he claimed John Mahama piloted?
• Did John Mahama propose a licensure examination in his alleged pilot?
• Can Dr. Adutwum give us just the name of one teacher that sat for a licensure examination and was issued with a license under John Mahama?
• Will Dr. Adutwum be honest and show Ghanaians which part of *Section 12 of the Education Act of 2008, Act 778,* under licensing of teachers (an Act which received President Kufour’s assent on *6th January 2009,* just a day before he left office) mentions examination as a *prerequisite* for licensing teachers?
For the avoidance of doubt, *Section 12(4)* of Act 778 stipulates that, *”The programmes of study for pre-tertiary education teachers that lead to a licence to teach shall be developed in consultation with the Council “* Council here means National Teaching Council, NTC.
Clearly then, the emphasis is on *the programmes of study that lead to a license to teach*. That program of study is at the Colleges of Education, and NOT an examination conducted outside the college after the teachers have completed their programme of study. The choice of examination as a *prerequisite* for licensing teachers therefore, was an *insensitive and ill thought out policy decision* by Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh and the NPP government, and not John Dramani Mahama’s policy. The policy has no legal basis either since there is no Legislative Instrument, (LI) to support the writing of any licensure exams.
At any rate, which of the teachers who taught Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh in Prempeh College, Dr. Yaw Adutwum in Jachie Pramso SHS and Dr. Prince Hamid Armah in which ever school he attended, to become what they are today, wrote a licensure examination?
Were those teachers who taught them half baked?
I was a teacher for almost 40 years from September 1978 to February 2018. I did not write any licensure examination to obtain a license to teach. I used my professional Teacher’s Certificate A-4yr from College, Diploma in Education from University of Cape Coast, in addition to other academic certificates to teach. I hadn’t been a half baked teacher, neither were the students that passed through my hands half baked. Are Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Dr. Yaw Adutwum, Dr. Prince Hamid Armah and Ekow Vincent Assifuah, who are all products of teachers who did not write licensure examinations, half baked?
The only reason for the Ministry of Education under Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, choosing to license teachers after passing a licensure examination and doing a compulsory one year national service in addition to one year off campus internship, is to deny them of immediate employment *in order to recoup the allowances given them while in college*. It is not a Mahama policy, neither does it have any legal basis.
As much as the licensure exams have no legal basis, and as much as it is insensitive to teachers, John Mahama will cancel it in 2021.
*DOUBLE TRACK*
Dr. Yaw Adutwun said John Mahama does not have any knowledge in Education because the latter said he would cancel the double track system of education. I agree with someone who said in a WhatsApp message that *”this is the impudence of a daring cockroach”*
Dr. Adutwum went on to justify his erroneous belief by stating that, the free SHS and double track are inseparably linked, and that, *”you (Mahama) cannot do free SHS without double track”*. He rode upon that wobbling logic to conclude that if John Mahama said he would cancel double track, it means he would cancel free SHS too, thus repeating the same false accusation by a panic stricken Nana Addo.
In such a confused state however, Dr. Adutwum went ahead to tell Ghanaians that double track would *end within 5 to 7 years*.
My question to Dr Adutwum:
Since the free SHS is inseparably linked to double track, and John Mahama cannot do free SHS without double track, will your free SHS die with double track within 5 to 7 years?
Before I conclude,
a point of clarification to Hon. Gifty Twum Ampofo, MP for Abuakwa North and Deputy Minister for Education in charge of TVET. Hon, you claimed, the fact that John Mahama said he would appoint a deputy minister for TVET, means he did not know what’s happening in education because you are there already. Honorable, for your education, Mahama was, and still is, aware that before Gifty is, there was a Barbara, as Deputy Minister in charge of TVET. Mahama is clearly aware of your claims that three years of the stewardship of the two of you in that capacity, you have nothing to show except perhaps the salary you earn. He is aware as you said that for three years, you are now laying a bill in Parliament; you are sourcing for Euro loans, Dollar loans and Pound Sterling loans to do this and do that in TVET.
Under Mahama, within four years these were but a few of what happened in Technical, Vocational Education and Training, TVET:
1. He commenced the refurbishment of *13* Technical schools in the country, including Akwatia, Ada, Amankwaakrom, Asuansi, Bolga, Kpando, Nkoranza, Wa, Takoradi, Accra and Krobea Asante
2. He converted 6 Polytechnics to Technical Universities with 2 others at their final stages of conversion. This came along with all the human and resource upgrades
3. He established the TVET Qualification Framework
4. He established MIS for TVET.
5. He implemented the Ghana Skills and Technology Development Project.
6. He created about 13,300 new jobs under the Skills Development Fund. Etc, etc. Mahama did all these without an assigned deputy minister in charge of TVET.
So Aunty Gifty, when John Mahama said he would appoint a deputy minister for TVET, he meant a working deputy Minister to produce tangible results not the one who would be there for three years with nothing to show.
Can our state officials and government appointees begin to show some sincerity in their utterances? Can they begin to speak the truth about Ghana’s education?
Who says teachers cannot be licensed based on the professional programs they pursue and pass at the colleges of education and the Universities?
And who says teachers cannot renew their licenses based on assessment of good professional conduct, retraining and refresher courses?
I remain a Citizen, not a Spectator
*#Dropthatlicensureexams*
*#automaticemploymentofteachers*
