The National Teaching Council (NTC) and the Ghana Education Service (GES) have announced a collaboration aimed at regularizing the professional status of untrained in-service teachers in the country.
In an official statement released, the NTC and GES have urged non-professional teachers in basic and second-cycle institutions to obtain the appropriate teaching registration and licensing by December 2024.
The move comes in response to a compliance check conducted by the NTC, which revealed that a significant number of teachers in senior high schools across six regions in Ghana do not possess the necessary credentials to be in the classroom.
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It is estimated that there are approximately 30,000 such teachers in the employment of the GES and Ghana TVET Service, the majority of whom were hired before the introduction of the licensure regime in 2018.
According to a transitional arrangement put forth by the NTC, these non-professional teachers will be provided support to obtain the credentials required for permanent registration and licensing.
To facilitate this regularization process, the Council intends to deploy a special dispensation for the registration and licensing of all non-professional in-service teachers in the country.
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According to NTC, these teachers will be categorized into two groups: bachelor’s degree holders and non-bachelor’s degree certificate holders.
Bachelor’s degree holders will be required to enroll in a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) programme at an accredited teacher education university.
Upon successful completion of the programme, they will be issued a teachers’ registration and license.
This fast-track programme will last 16 weeks and is exclusively for those who were teachers before September 30th, 2018.
Non-bachelor’s degree certificate holders, including HND, Diploma, WASSCE, SSCE, O’/A’ Level, NAPTEX, and MSLC holders, will need to attend a one-week training program (Booth camp) at designated institutions.
Upon successful completion of the training, they will be issued permanent registration.
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The Council has clarified that participants in these two programs will not be required to write the licensure examination, as this is part of the transitional arrangements for those employed by the GES prior to the introduction of the exam.
According to the council, detailed arrangements, including fees, will be communicated to the teachers in due course.
To begin the registration process, non-professional in-service teachers are urged to visit the NTC’s official website and provide their details via https://ntc.gov.gh/dnpt/