The Minority in Parliament has called for the suspension of the National Teaching Council’s (NTC) teacher licensure examination.
The Minority caucus expressed concerns about the number of teachers who failed in the examinations which was organized by the NTC in March 2021.
According to the Minority, the licensure examination is “retrogressive and cannot bring out the best in the newly trained teacher.”
A statement signed by Ranking Member of Education, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe called for a review of the curriculum for teacher education as well as making the licensure an integral part of the course programme as credit hours to be earned by students towards their certification.
See the full statement below:
MINORITY POSITION ON THE MASS FAILURE OF CANDIDATES IN THE RECENTLY CONDUCTED TEACHER LICENSURE EXAMINATIONS AND THE WAY FORWARD.
The attention of the Minority (NDC) in Parliament has been drawn to a mass failure of candidates who sat for the recently conducted Teacher Licensure Examination.
The National Teaching Council (NTC) an agency under the Ministry of Education in 2018 introduced the Teacher Licensure Examination aimed at licensing teachers who teach or want to teach in public pre-tertiary schools in the country. This according to the Ministry of Education is a fulfillment of Section 12(4) of the Education Act, 2008 (Act 778) which states that : “The programme of study for pre-tertiary teachers that lead to a license to teach shall be developed in consultation with the Council”.
It, therefore, means that the Act did not intend a separate examination to be conducted on the teacher after he or she has undergone a programme of study at the College of Education or a University accredited to offer teacher-training programmes.
The Minority in the past three years have observed with concern the unfair treatment being meted to these young trained teachers who have devoted themselves to serve the nation in a capacity that many people have chosen to avoid.
The introduction of the Licensure Examination has negatively affected the teacher-trainee. Until 2017, a teacher who completed a teacher-education in a College of Education was immediately posted to begin his or her career as a professional teacher. On assuming duty, the first day counts towards the professional progression of the teacher.
It is also on record that since 2017, newly trained teachers have been made to undertake a mandatory one-year national service.