The Africa Education Watch (EduWatch) has urged for the reintroduction of entrance examinations and interviews for prospective students looking to pursue various teacher education programmes in the public Colleges of Education in the country.
According to EduWatch, these measures act as vital quality filters in the selection process and should not have been scrapped.
This call from EduWatch’s Executive Director, Kofi Asare, comes after John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), announced that his party plans to abolish the Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE) if they come into power.
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Mahama believes that the GTLE is unnecessary, as teachers already undergo examinations at different stages of their training.
He also promised automatic posting of teacher trainee graduates under his leadership, ensuring that no graduate will be denied employment.
However, EduWatch disagrees with Mahama’s stance and supports the licensing of teachers.
According to Kofi Asare, any approach used in training and licensing teachers should prioritize quality assurance in teaching standards.
Asare acknowledges some issues with the current GTLE, stating why a government committee has been formed to explore possible reforms.
It is worth noting that the NDC had previously made promises to eliminate the GTLE and mandatory national service for teachers in their 2020 manifesto.
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Although EduWatch had productive engagements with the party’s manifesto committee regarding potential alternatives, they have urged the NDC to provide detailed explanations of their proposed quality assurance alternatives for public scrutiny.