According to Dr. John Ntim Fordjour, Deputy Minister of Education, the Ministry will continue to administer the teacher licensing exam.
He claims that doing this will guarantee the supply of qualified educators for the field of education.
This was stated by Mr. Ntim Fordjour in Accra during the Ghana Teacher Prize ceremony this year.
He continued by saying that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer’s proposal to outlaw the teacher license exam would not benefit the education sector.
“There have been many reforms. We have never put a framework that recognizes our teachers as professionals, there came the introduction of the licensure exams and now teachers have the framework to be recognized as professionals upon whose shoulders every other professional will stand,” he stated.
Every year on October 5, the world observes Teachers’ Day to honour the invaluable contribution that teachers make to society. It also serves to highlight how dedicated educators are to producing high-caliber pupils in spite of insufficient funding for education.
“Celebrating excellence, valorising our teachers” is the topic for this year. The Ashanti Region’s capital, Kumasi, will host the event.
Prior to then, stakeholders had serious concerns regarding the licensure exams and teacher motivation.
Resources for the education sector have been a source of grievance for education stakeholders, including the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU), the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT).
According to the General Secretary of GNAT, Thomas Musah Tanko, government should increase funding to about 20% to support infrastructure in the sector.
“Every year, at least 20 percent of government expenditure must be committed to education but that is not so. We are currently doing around three percent, and now basic education has been the biggest casualty,” he said.
The government’s resolute commitment to providing the resources was affirmed by the Deputy Minister of Education.
Dr. Eric Nkansah, the Director General of the Ghana Education Service, emphasized the importance of implementing innovations to assist educators.
“We have worked to ensure the basic issues such as teacher upgrades, promotions, transfer among others have been prioritized to receive the needed attention of the management of the Ghana Education Service,” he said.
Other speakers lauded the efforts of teachers in spearheading the education sector.