Patrick Antwi (middle) addressig the press at the programme
A group of teachers calling itself ‘Teachers and Trainees Advocacy (TTA)’ has said former President John Mahama’s intended policy to cancel licensure examination for teachers when voted into power will disrupt the teaching profession.
According to the group, any attempt to change the existing policies would be inimical to the career growth of teachers and an affront to improving the level of professionalism and educational standards in the country.
At a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, the National Convener of the group, Patrick Antwi Karikari, explained that undergoing the national service, which is a mandatory requirement for employment, made it easy for teachers to transition from current occupation to other occupations of better future opportunities and the plans of the former President are going to disrupt that process.
“Teachers are divinely destined for several other job opportunities and we won’t sit down aloof and allow his ‘abolishing spree’ to endanger the well institutionalized national service that will eventually make our dreams come true for us to also become Members of Parliament, ministers, etc. in the near future,” he stressed.
The group said the initiative for teachers undergoing a mandatory national service had been there since teachers who were trained in the universities were previously made to undergo national service.
Mr. Karikari cited an improvement in the output of trainee teachers who have undertaken the licensure examination per data from the National Teaching Council (NTC) as a justification for maintaining the licensure regime in order to improve professionalism level of teachers.
He said the group’s research has shown that all newly trained teachers that have completed service have been posted by the Ghana Education Service (GES) regardless of the few hiccups that were being resolved and, therefore, “no qualified newly trained teacher has been deprived posting or employment after college.”
By Issah Mohammed