Acquire authorisation or face the law – Teaching Council to non-professional teachers

The National Teaching Council (NTC) of Ghana has directed non-professional teachers in all private and public schools to acquire the appropriate authorization or face the full rigors of the law.

The Council said this is in compliance with the regulations in the Education Regulator Bodies Act 2020, Act 1023 Section 80(1) to (5).

According to the Deputy Registrar in charge of operations at the NTC, Lawrence Sarpong, this is also to streamline activities within the teaching space and help improve their professionalism as learning facilitators.

He said schools with non-professional teachers have up to May 31, 2023, to register them for an upcoming training that will qualify them for the professional certificate.

“May 31 is when we expect every school to register all the non-professional teachers. Submit their names to us so that training can take place and issue the professional certificate to them after completion,” he said in an interview.

Mr. Sarpong added that individuals and schools that violate the directive will be held accountable before the law.

“If you don’t allow yourself to be trained and permitted to teach, then it means that you don’t want to be part of the teaching fraternity that is why you didn’t go through the exercise so in that case, if we find you in the classroom, then we will subject you to the law.

“The law says that it is illegal to teach in the classroom without authorization by the Council. It is equally an offense for someone to engage someone without authorization by the Council to teach so both the owner of the school and the person purporting to teach commit an offense and the penalty prescribed by the law will be applied,” he said.

The National Teaching Council had earlier announced in a press release signed by the Registrar that all non-professional teachers can register and acquire a temporary license to enable them to teach following deliberations on March 24, 2023.