A worrying number of teachers fail G.E.S licensure exams.
The licensure exams aim to prepare teachers to meet the demands of the National Teachers Standards, possessing the minimum knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes required to deliver effectively in schools. These exams have been in existence since 2019, and they help teachers acquire a professional license to teach.
Through the Education Act of 2008, Act 778, the first teacher licensure exams were conducted in September 2018.
Many have applauded the government for the introduction of this system, believing in its essence to help develop the right human resources for the classroom.
However, the recent performance of prospective teachers who took the exam has become very appalling, and the public has raised questions about the steps the Government is taking to resolve this issue.
The Registrar of the Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination, Dr. Christian Addai-Poku, revealed that out of the 7,728 prospective teachers who sat for the examination last month, only 1,277 passed.
This is indeed worrying as the figure represents 16.5% of the total candidates who sat for the examination, introduced to teaching practitioners.
The public has shared their views on this. Some believe the examination system is faulty and have called on people to depart from blaming the candidates.
“The exam system may be rather faulty; mass failure cannot be blamed on only students. The council must be questioned as well.”
A section of the social media fraternity also believes that the questions set are only meant to punish candidates and not to test their understanding.
“Sad…Ghana Exams do not reflect reality. They set the questions not to assess how you understand the topic or the course but as a means of punishment. That is why we graduate and cannot apply what we have learned. We can compare to European and co. exams, very practical.”
There is a need for an inquiry on the side of the Government and the public to find out the remote factors influencing this, as others claim.
“Mass failure, what could be the reasons?? It’s so sad.”