Flash back: Mahama contradicts NDC administration on teacher licensure examination

The Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, says he will abolish the licensure examination for teachers if he is elected as President in 2020.

” I will cancel licensure exams for teachers,” he said on Monday in a first in the series of a Facebook live session.

But it is a position that contradicts his administration’s stance on teacher-quality assurance.

The first licensure examination took place from September 10 to 12, 2018. It covered essential teaching skills, numeracy (basic calculation) and literacy (verbal aptitude and essay writing).

For the first time, teachers graduating from teacher education programmes with diplomas, bachelor and post-graduate degrees from colleges of education/universities are required to pass a professional licensure examination.

Nurses,  medical doctors, pharmacists and accountants also write licensure examinations as a pre-requisite qualification.

But the former President insists that given the rigorous training teacher trainees go through before graduating from the colleges of education, the licensure examination was unnecessary.

However, theghanareport.com can confirm that the licensure examination was first pencilled for the 2016/2017 academic year.

The Daily Graphic of September 21, 2016, reported that beginning from the 2016/17 academic year, all newly recruited teachers will have to be licensed before they will be allowed to teach.

Those who are already in the teaching service who are professional teachers were to be streamlined, while those who are not professional teachers will be given temporary licences for three years.

The acting Chief Inspector of the National Inspectorate Board (NIB), Dr Augustine Tawiah, told the media  “if within the three years they are not able to acquire the licences, then they cannot hold themselves as teachers”.

He said teachers would be required to renew their licences yearly, “just like how we renew other licences”, adding that in the case of teachers, they would go through professional development programmes and appraisals to get their licences renewed.

Dr Tawiah explained that teachers would have to participate in training programmes to qualify for renewal of the licence.

He mentioned another criterium that would qualify a teacher to be licensed as a good appraisal report, including punctuality and regularity, effective teaching and serving on committees.

He added, “If you are always fighting and also if you have a criminal record and all such vices, you will lose your licence.”

However, the idea was shelved and revived two years later with the first examination written in September 2018.

The  Ghana National Teaching Council (NTC) is mandated by the Education Act 2008,  (Act 778) to design and execute professional development programmes and licensing of pre-tertiary teachers among other things.

The exams are to serve as the benchmark for the Ghana Education Services to hire them as teachers.

When the teachers wrote the maiden examination, the pass mark was pegged at  50 per cent with a total of 28757 candidates taking part.

However, a little over a quarter of the candidates flunked the examinations—7,432.  Seventy-four per cent, 21287,  however, passed.

The examinations were not without cheating.  At least 26 candidates had their results withheld pending an investigation into malpractices, while that of 12 candidates were cancelled.

Before the examinations were written, it was met with protests and agitations from the Ghana National Association of Teachers and teacher trainees.