Aug 16, 2017
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) have launched a protest against the introduction of the policy license teachers, describing it as “unnecessary.”
According to them, the plan by the National Teachers Council (NTC) of the Ministry of Education, to subject teachers to an examination before given a license to practice, could create problems to compound the challenges in the education sector.
President of NAGRAT, Christian Addai Poku told ADR Daily that the move is unnecessary, describing it also a reinvention of the wheel.
According to him, the certification from the Colleges of Education should be enough to qualify teachers to practice.
“What will then be the essence of the certification of the Colleges if certified teachers would have to again write an examination to be licensed? he asked.
He said although the aim of the policy was good for enhancing professional, the examination and licencing aspect was problematic.
Mr. David Ofori-Acheampong, General Secretary of GNAT, also expressed reservations about the policy, saying the association was not comfortable with the arrangement.
He said the Council should have consulted the various teacher unions for their input before setting off the implementation process.
“We are not scared to write exams to get our license, after all, we are the same people who set questions for students and so why should we be afraid to write exams.
“All we need now is that all formalities for the full implementation are in order. We won’t allow them to impose anything on us until there is a consensus between us. We have competent representatives on the council and we expect them to make the right decisions before we will accept it,” he said.
He further observed teachers in the country are faced with so many challenges and therefore it is important for the education ministry to channel its resources in shaping the education system rather than concentrating on issues that are not too relevant.
“Sometimes we try hard to understand the leaders we have in this country. We really have challenges when it comes to teachers and students and I rather urge them to sit down and plan on how to deal with these challenges instead of wasting their time on this,” Mr. Ofori-Acheampong said.
Mr. Ofori Acheampong indicated that since the license comes with a lot of benefits, they expect the council to consider them as professionals and make available benefits due them when the policy is finally implemented.
The National Teachers Council last week announced that all teachers, from January next year, will now have to pass a special examination before being granted the license to teach.
The move, according to the NTC, is to enforce discipline and eliminate non-performing teachers from the system, in accordance with the new Teachers Licensing Policy under the Education Act 778, 2008.
Executive Secretary-designate of the National Teaching Council, Dr. Augustine Tawiah disclosed the formalities for the full implementation of the teachers’ license policy had been finalized and a secretariat to issue the license had also been established.
By Francis Tandoh/adrdaily.com
