Licensure Examination: Educationist Believes Mass Failure By Teachers Reflects Low Quality Of Education

• Nii Armah Addy wants the focus on the mass teacher licensure examination to shift to the poor state of Ghana's education
• The education policy analyst affiliated with the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) told YEN.com.gh in an exclusive interview that Ghana's education is in deep crisis and the poor outcome of the licensure exam is a reflection
• He wants the examination to be improved to better deliver on its purpose of improving the quality of Ghanaian teachers

An educationist has said the huge failure of prospective teachers in the recent Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE) reflects the country's current crisis of poor quality education.

Nii Armah Addy of the influential Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), a left-of-centre policy think tank in Ghana, has told YEN.com.gh it is unfortunate that the focus has been on the over 80% of prospective teachers who failed basic tests in numeracy, literacy and professional knowledge.

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According to Addy, the outcome of the 2023 GTLE reflects a deeper problem of how low the quality of education has fallen in Ghana.

"We all know that the quality of education has fallen deeply. And what it will take for Ghana to build up and re-build that glory as one of the beacons of education in West Africa and even Africa, contributing some of the great human resources to the world, does not exist now as it used to be.

"This ultimately reflects the low quality of Ghana's education. It has fallen. And if the teacher-student-school environment is anything to go by, then I can tell you that this abysmal performance of teachers also reflects the poor conditions under which teachers operate," Nii Armah Addy told YEN.com.gh.

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Ghanaians concerned as more than 80% of 7,728 teachers pass licensure exams

There has been an intense public debate about the disappointing outcome of the 2023 GTLE, conducted by the National Teaching Council (NTC).

A whopping 6,481 of the total 7,728 prospective teachers failed the GTLE that enables Ghanaian teachers to acquire a professional licence to teach. That means only 1,277 passed the test.

Some of the candidates were taking the test a second time after failing the first time was most unfortunate.

Mass failure of the prospective teachers makes GTLE very critical

Nii Armah Addy said one of the ways to improve Ghana's education is to pattern the GTLE to be consistent with international best practices.

He said the unfortunate outcome of the teacher licensure exams also demonstrates that the Ministry of Education was justified in pushing through the GTLE despite the initial pushback.

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"The GTLE is consistent with best practices in the UK and elsewhere. But the other things that will make such an examination successful must be present. The licensure exam on its own will not deliver on producing good teachers for our schools.

"We need the other things in the school environment that facilitates teaching and learning. We also need the resources that will motivate teachers to take the licensure exam. If everything in the examination is detached from the test that the teachers write, then I can tell you that there will be a problem," Nii Armah during the exclusive interview with YEN.com.gh.

He also urged the NTC to adopt a more progressive way of assessing prospective teachers and not limit the entire assessment to a two- or three-hour examination.

"Lecture notes, teacher attendance, student performance, and others can also be good ways to assess teachers who are seeking to be licensed. If these practical aspects of teaching can be added to the GTLE, especially for those already teaching, as a form of continuous assessment, I am sure the assessment can become even better," he said.

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Nii Armah Addy cautions against blaming trainee teachers alone GTLE fiasco

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported earlier that the CSJ education policy analyst has advised against trolling the many teachers who failed the recent licensure exams.

He said a myriad of factors could have triggered mass failures.

Nii Armah Addy said the National Teaching Council has, for instance, failed to provide supporting resources to make the exam deliver on its purposes.

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Also, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that a graduate of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Francisca Amoah, now works as a car sprayer.

Reports say the resilient young lady earned a first-class degree in Economics from a reputable Ghanaian establishment.

However, she had to venture into the automobile sector by learning and mastering the craft of car spraying inside her father's garage.

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In other news, Amie Fornah Sankoh has opened up about becoming the first deaf Black woman to bag a PhD in a STEM programme in the US.

She graduated with a doctorate in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

The trailblazer stated that she intends to lead by example, set high standards, and work hard to inspire people with big aspirations.

Source: YEN.com.gh