Former President and flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama has vowed to abolish the teacher’s licensure examination if he is elected as President in the 2024 polls.
Mr Mahama criticised the concept, deeming it poorly thought-through and expressed concerns about requiring students from Colleges of Education to undergo an additional test before practising.
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.
According to the NTC, the purpose of the licensure examination is to enable qualified teachers to acquire a professional license to ply their trade.
However, speaking at a town hall meeting at Wenchi in the Bono Region, the former president indicated, “This is unnecessary. In our next administration, we will cancel the licensure exams.”
Mr Mahama said he will subsequently put in measures to ensure that all individuals who pass through the colleges of education are professional by their graduation dates.
He emphasised that he had the interest of teachers at heart for which reason although he had previously captured this in the 2020 manifesto it will also be captured in his current manifesto.
Former President Mahama is on a “Building Ghana Tour” this month, ahead of the 2024 general elections.
The tour includes town hall meetings, community outreach schemes, engagements with diverse communities, and different stakeholders within the country.
The “Building Ghana Tour” will also highlight some of Mahama’s values, such as active citizen participation and advocacy for progress as key to shaping the future of Ghana.