The National Teacher Licensure Examination has been incorporated into the final assessment of trainees and will no longer be conducted as a distinct examination, the National Teaching Council (NTC) has announced.
Furthermore, it was mentioned that the examination has undergone modifications and improvements, noting, for example, that it now features a practical component that accounts for 30 percent of the final assessment for trainees.
During a press conference in Accra yesterday, aimed at dispelling worries that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government had failed to fulfill its commitment to eliminate the licensure examination, the Board Chairman of the NTC, Emmanuel Kwame Alorvi, reiterated the commitments outlined in the party’s manifesto, which indicated that it would be included in the final assessment of the trainees.
Mr. Alorvi pointed out that the NDC’s manifesto in preparation for the 2024 elections expressed a desire to abolish the licensure examination in its existing format, referencing a section of the document that stated that:
“This clause in the NDC manifesto means that the party would abolish the process whereby the trainees had to wait to complete college and wait at home for one year before sitting for their examination.
“The old form of the licensure examination also involved a six-hour pencil-and-paper examination in literacy, numeracy and essential professional skills. There was no practical assessment despite the fact that teaching involves pedagogical knowledge, as well as content knowledge.
“The old examination had no teaching practice part. They (fresh teachers) all wrote the examination without any practical aspect,” Mr Alorvi further explained.
In fulfillment of the NDC pledge, the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, established a seven-member committee tasked with developing modalities for the implementation of the government’s professional licensing policy.
“The committee’s report, which was presented to the Minister of Education on May 28, 2025, proposed a three-tier approach to the execution of the government’s licensure policy.
The first tier, he stated, encompassed those retaking the exam and trainees who had completed their college education and were awaiting the opportunity to take the exam in its previous format,” he elaborated.
Mr. Alorvi further noted that although the old system was discontinued in August 2025, at the time the committee was formed, there existed a group of teachers who graduated in 2025 and wished to take the licensure examination under the former system, necessitating a one-year wait.
“Those who attempted the exam the previous year and were unsuccessful were also afforded another opportunity. Thus, the first tier focused on these categories of students,” he clarified.
The NTC Board Chairman assured that teacher trainees currently enrolled in college would undertake the reformed licensure as part of their final semester examinations, eliminating the need to complete a full year before taking the licensure exam.
Mr. Alovi further explained that the practical component, which is now part of the new licensure framework, was absent in the previous system.
“Teaching practice has been added, constituting 30 per cent of the total mark. Previously, it was only the literacy, numeracy, and professional skills that took 100 per cent of the licensure exam.
“But the reform recognises that teaching involves both practical and content. So, 30 per cent of the teaching practice they did at college formed 30 per cent of their assessment in 2025. That’s the new reform,” Mr Alovi added.
Addressing the third tier, Mr. Alorvi stated that a screening process must be established for potential students to guarantee that only the right and qualified trainees are admitted to the colleges.
He voiced his concerns regarding the high failure rate of trainees in the licensure examination, questioning whether the new teachers were inadequately prepared, lacked seriousness in their studies upon entering the colleges of education, or if those who were admitted to the colleges of education were not of the highest quality.
“That is the recommendation that the NTC should engage all stakeholders, including the teacher unions, so that, if possible, we can screen the candidates going to the colleges of education.
“If they don’t pass the screening process, they don’t enter because if they enter, that means they spend money on training allowance,” Mr. Alorvi added.
