teachers black board classroom
File photo: A teacher

The Ministry of Education will begin the distribution of licenses to qualified teachers in both private and public schools on May 17.

Although the Ministry began the popular licensure examination some three years ago, the initiative did not better-professionalise the teaching career enough, according to experts.

The Ministry, however, believes registration and distribution of licenses to qualified teachers will be a permanent solution to the problem.

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, therefore, launched the teacher licensing and registration programme Friday 14th May, 2021.

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According to Dr Adutwum, the launch “begins the formal process of giving them [teachers] a license and also ensuring that those who were grandfathered into the act, grandfathered meaning that they were not required to do the exams also go through the registration and the licensing, so that they can also know that they are part of the group of people.”

The distribution, which is set to begin on the 17th of May, 2021, starts with the Greater Accra Region.

In an interview with JoyNews, Executive Secretary for the National Teachers Council, Dr Christian Addae-Poku said, only teachers who have received the requisite teacher training will be given licenses.

“Both private and public school teachers who are qualified are supposed to register and be licensed,” he said.

Dr Addae-Poku further explained qualified teachers who began their teaching careers before September 2018 will not require the licensure exams to be given licenses.

“Anybody who has gone through training college either through training college or through a university that is well accredited and has graduated before 2018, that person qualifies to be given a license without writing teacher licensure exams,” he added.

Government is hoping that by this exercise, teaching in Ghana would see a drastic improvement.