Matthew Opoku Prempeh
The Ministry of Education has described the performance of teachers who sat for the first licensure exams and recruitment aptitude test, as uninspiring.
After weeks of stiff opposition, the licensure examination introduced in September 2018 took place as a way of recruiting qualified teachers at the basic level.
Over 29,000 candidates who sat for the exams across the country, were to be employed by the government should they make the 50 percent pass mark.
Organizers’ of the exams, the National Teaching Council (NTC) has also been instructed by an Accra High Court to respond to a petition filed against it to have the exams suspended.
Updating the public on strides made so far in the government’s quest to improve teacher education, Education Minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh said, the performance of the teachers was not ‘heartwarming’.
“I know that this matter is in court so I can’t speak much about it. But, the results are available for the public anytime we finish with the case.
“Anything about the results that came out is not heartwarming”, he disclosed.
Licensure exams shambolic, NTC was ill-prepared – Akatsi North MP
A ranking member on the Education Committee of Parliament, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, said the National Teaching Council (NTC) was not adequately prepared for the teacher licensure examination hence the numerous challenges faced by candidates.
He argued there was no clear road-map to guide the conduct of the examination.
The Akatsi North legislator told Citi News the exams should have been halted and postponed to next year.
“We need adequate preparation for this licensure examination. The way they are conducting this is so shambolic. There is no proper management of the system. It is good we want to license our teachers, but we must adopt procedures that are favourable to the candidates or the teachers who are to write this examination, so nobody is at a disadvantage.
Be serious with subsequent licensure exams – Teachers to NTC
Some graduate teachers who completed the licensure exam wanted the National Teaching Council (NTC) to ensure that the challenges that bedevilled the exercise are not repeated in subsequent exams.
They cited delays, maltreatment and leakage of exam papers as some of the major issues that the NTC should address.
“We heard later from other colleagues that they’ve cancelled the paper because there was a leakage. We were waiting for a new paper to write. The new paper also got leaked, two hours before the paper. I think that the teaching council is a bogus institution and must be dissolved,” one of the candidates stated.
Most of the candidates who participated in the exams could not hide their frustration.
Licensure exams
The Teachers Licensing examination conducted by the National Teaching Council nationwide began on Monday, September 10, 2,018 and ended on Wednesday, September 12, 2,018.
The examination applied to all teachers who hold the Diploma in Basic Education (DBE), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) or a post-graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) who want to be employed by the Ghana education service.
According to the National Teaching Council, the purpose of the licensure examination is to enable qualified teachers to acquire a professional license to ply their trade.
-Citifmonline