A group of aggrieved teachers in the Ho Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) District, have expressed misgivings over the teacher licensure examination, saying it lacks transparency and an affront to the teaching profession.
The Ho GNAT District is made up of teachers from Ho municipality, Agotime-Ziope, Adaklu and Ho West districts.
The teachers, numbering at about 70 said that the licensure examination should rather be part of the final examinations of trainee teachers, before completing college.
A spokesman of the group, which also included some members of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Mr Mathias Tulasi, Assistant Director 2 of the Ghana Education Service, said at a press conference in Ho, on Thursday, that recent publication of the licensure examination result called for a broader reflection of the issue.
He referred to the result of teachers’ promotional examination written in February, this year, and sought to know why some teachers, who were informed that they had passed the examination and asked to submit the documents required for their promotion, were later told that they had failed.
Mr Tulasi said that it was clear that “it is just a quota system, which was used in passing those who sat for the examination. We are calling on the leadership of GNAT, as a matter of urgency to meet the Ministry of Education and arrange for remarking of those examination scripts.”
He said that members of the group were worried over the long silence by the national leadership of GNAT over the matter.
Mr Tulasi said the recent four per cent salary increment in teachers’ salaries was an insult, adding that seven per cent increment expected next year would be rejected by the group.
“Government must go back to the negotiating table to increase it to nothing less than 12 per cent; government cannot use COVID-19 as an excuse when people are using COVID-19 to enrich themselves,” he said.
Mr Tulasi complained that the Standard-Based Curriculum, which was introduced almost three years ago was still faced with inadequate teaching and learning problems.
“There is a gap in the implementation of Standard-Based Curriculum because Junior High Schools are not implementing as planned, while the text books supplied to the schools have been withdrawn,” he revealed.
Mr Tulasi explained that teachers were committed to seeing students become great men and women for the nation; and urged government to provide the necessary materials to promote teaching and learning.
FROM ALBERTO MARIO NORETTI, HO
