The Institute for Educational Studies (IFEST) has described as retrogressive the call to suspend the licensure exams.
They believe that the call by the Minority for the exams to be suspended is not the best option to address the mass failure of teacher trainers who sat for the exams.
Licencing of examination across the globe in their view is designed to identify persons with specific jobs safely and competently.
The majority of teachers who sat for the exams in March 2021 failed at least two courses in the exams conducted by NTC.
The National Union of Ghana Students and Teacher Trainees expressed concerns about the failure rate in the exams.
Dr. Yaw Adutwum assured that the Ministry will engage stakeholders to address the situation.
He also disclosed that he has instructed the NTC, to have a web portal where the prospective teachers will have access to practice before sitting for the main examinations.
The Minority is advocating for the immediate suspension of the teacher licensure exams.
According to the Minority, the exams is now a “bottleneck for trainees”.
A statement signed by the spokesperson on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education Peter Nortsu-Kotoe said: “…After the teacher-trainees have gone through a three-year programme, now four years and having to obtain a number of credits to qualify as teachers, a six-hour aptitude test or examination is conducted to determine their professional competence.
“The question one asks is that can a six-hour examination correct or rectify any inadequacies or inefficiencies in the teacher that a three-year programme of study could not correct?”
“As minority, we wish to assure all teacher-trainees that we are with them in their struggle and wish to re-assure them that an NDC government on coming into office on 7 January 2025 will consider the one-year off campus teaching as a national service period as well as making the Licensure Examination part of the credit hours they have to obtain as they go through the course of study to graduate as teachers,” the statement added.
But, IFEST is not in support of the call insisting it is retrogressive.
IFEST admitted that there could be challenges contributing to the organization of the exams and the failures recorded.
However, suspending or scrapping the licensure exams is not the best solution, IFEST added.
Read their full statement below
By: Rainbowradioonline.com
