Quota System At Colleges of Education: Government Admits Lack Of Infrastructure Informed The Decision

• Government has said it has not instituted a quota system at colleges of education because it did not want to pay trainee allowances as some people have suggested
• The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission has said a lack of space at the colleges informed the quota system
• GTEC explained that the four-year system being run at the colleges of education has caused a limited space to admit more prospective teacher-trainees

The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has clarified the decision to re-introduce an admission quota system at colleges of education across the country.

GTEC executive director Professor Mohammed Salifu has explained that a lack of infrastructure at the colleges informed the re-introduction of the quota system and not lack of money to pay teacher-trainee allowance.

He said the four-year system being run at the colleges of education has put pressure on available space to admit more teacher-trainees.

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A Citi News report quoted Salifu as saying that an infrastructure expansion programme intended by the government has not yet happened.

“So as it stands now, physical space is still a little limited. You would have heard that we have hostel projects going on across all the various colleges. While that is ongoing, we have to manage the space we have. That is what informed the decision,” the GTEC boss was quoted by the report.

He said the quota system is not a policy shift and that prospective teacher-trainees that would be admitted will still be paid allowances by the government.

“We are dealing with an existing policy which recognises that we pay [teacher trainees] allowances. But the numbers we are dealing with now are just numbers that are constrained by the physical space that the colleges have,” he said.

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Government Introduces Quota System For Admissions Into Colleges of Education

In a letter dated December 16, 2022 the GTEC announced the reintroduction of the quota system for all 46 accredited public colleges of education for the 2022/2023 academic year.

Some 12,002 prospective teacher-trainees are to be admitted into for the 2022/2023 academic year.

Education analysts had said the move is a deliberate attempt by the government to cut down payment of teacher-trainee allowances.

Per the admission quota system, E.P College of Education at Amedzofe in the Volta Region will admit of 196 teacher-trainees, while Methodist College of Education will admit 195.

Abetifi Presbyterian College of Education has a permissible quota of admitting 300 students, while Holy Child College of Education can admit 273 students.

See the full list of the quota system for admission of teacher-trainees at the various colleges of education in Ghana below.

Teacher-Trainee Allowances Replaced With Students Loan

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Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported in a previous story that the John Mahama-led government explained that it never scrapped teacher trainee allowances.

The government said the trainee allowances were replaced with student loans.

Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang the education minister at the time said the students loan has increased the number of trainees enrolled.

Source: YEN.com.gh