The Head of Public Relations for the Ministry of Education, Ekow Vincent Asaafuah, has revealed plans by the government to begin the award of bachelors degrees in education instead of the diploma we know.

This follows the conversion of all teacher trainee institutions into fully-fledged universities.

The conversion also means that all applicants into teacher training institutions must meet the rigorous requirements for universities in Ghana.

According to the ministry, the move will also extend the years of training to four in tandem with what other universities are doing.

Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show, Mr Asaafuah explained that this move forms part of teacher reforms in the country.

“The conversion of training colleges to fully-fledged universities has necessitated the move to award the bachelor degree instead of the diploma. Teacher trainees would have to meet the basic WASSCE requirements for universities in Ghana and will go through a 4-year program.”

He also explained that the management of training colleges will be changed into a career and creativity-oriented curriculum.

“Teacher trainees will be taught to improve their creativity to help them in diverse ways through which they can help make learning easier for their students with their certificates awarded based on specifications and the levels they can teach,” he added.

These reforms were initially announced by the president Nana Akuffo-Addo when he delivered the keynote address at the 170th-anniversary celebration of the Presbyterian College of Education, in Akropong, in the Eastern Region.

According to the president, these reforms form part of Government’s vision to transform the country’s education delivery system to meet the needs of a 21st-century economy and to produce a skilled and confident workforce to drive the nation’s agenda for industrialization and modernization.