Robin Todd, the Team leader of the Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (TTEL) in Ghana program, funded by UK AID, has admonished teachers and teacher trainees to embrace the newly introduced Teacher Licensing Examination.
He explained that the policy is to help them build capacity and improve on their delivery.
In 2017, the National Teaching Council (NTC) announced that teachers would 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 pursuance of the Teachers Licensing Policy under the Education Act 778 (2008).
The then Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Education Service, Rev. Johnathan Bettey, mentioned that teachers who will fail the exams will not qualify as professional teachers.
Robin Todd, who was speaking at a capacity building workshop, Challenge Fund Learning event for Colleges of Education in Koforidua in the Eastern Region indicated that,” this is to raise the profile of the teaching profession. The world’s best performing education systems are united by a common thread – the respect and standing of the teacher in a society – a respect which means that young people aspire to join the teaching profession”.
He also outlined some of the strategies TTEL is adopting in collaboration with government to improve quality teacher education.
“We are starting by raising the entry requirements for basic school teachers so that they are equivalent to those of other professions. To be a lawyer, architect, engineer, pharmacist or doctor you must first gain a Bachelors’ Degree and then secure your license to practice.”
From October 2018, all new entrants to the teaching profession will be required to study Bachelors of Education degrees offered by Colleges of Education, initially in affiliation with the University of Cape Coast, and after one year of implementation with other public Universities.
The curriculum offered in these Colleges of Education will represent a significant departure from previous practice.
Five public universities (University of Cape Coast, University of Education Winneba, University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology and the University of Development Studies), have designed new Bachelor of Education degrees aligned with the National Teachers’ Standards (NTS) and the National Teacher Education Curriculum Framework (NTECF), and submitted these to the National Accreditation Board (NAB) for certification.
He said aligning the new Curriculum with these standards will ensure that Ghana gets quality trained teachers to deliver a world class education system.
“The Curriculum will be very practically focused with 30% of the total assessment marks being related to practical assessments of teaching ability, and will focus on ensuring that teachers are confident in the use of learner-centred approaches to encourage critical thinking and problem solving. Teaching practice in schools (supported teaching in the language of the new curriculum), will play a central part in the learning process with student-teachers spending time in partner schools in years 1, 2, 3 and 4, not just in Year 3 as is the case with the current Diploma.”
Once student-teachers have completed their 4-year Bachelor of Education degree, they will then spend one year teaching in basic schools, employed by the Ghana Education Service (GES), before they will receive their license to practice and achieve qualified teacher status.
“This license is important because it provides an independent validation that each teacher has the practical skills and capabilities to meet the requirements of the National Teachers’ Standards. There will be an assessment across the three domains of effective teaching which I mentioned earlier, namely, professional values and attitudes, professional knowledge and professional practice.
TTEL’s Role
TTEL has been working with the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) to support all 46 Colleges of Education to transform teacher education and learning. They have been working with Colleges for the past three years to prepare them for the Teacher Education Reforms.
TTEL acknowledges the important role that the University of Cape Coast in particular has been playing in building the capacity of the Colleges of Education.
“I firmly believe that with this support, Colleges – including all nine Colleges here today- are ready to deliver the new Bachelors of Education degree. I am excited about the opportunities for Colleges and Universities, working in a partnership of mutual cooperation, respect and understanding, to truly transform teacher education and learning. If Ghana achieves these reforms it will stand as a beacon of hope to all of Africa to bring genuine change in teacher education”.
He said TTEL will keep working with universities to provide Continuous Professional Development support to enable all lecturers and tutors to understand all aspects of the new curriculum and deliver it effectively.
He added that TTEL will strengthen partnerships between partner schools and Colleges, guided by a new School Partnerships Policy, to ensure that experienced teachers are effectively mentoring student-teachers in line with the NTS.
TTEL will provide support to all Colleges to enable them to upgrade the qualifications of their tutors, within a 4-year transitional period, to meet the minimum requirements of the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), Mr. Robin Todd assured.
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By: Kojo Agyeman/citinewsroom.com/Ghana