Accra, August 17, 2017//-One of the topics that, has dominated the media’s attention recently is the issue of whether it is prudent to license teachers in Ghana or not.
While regulatory bodies such as, the Ministry of Education, and the Ghana Education Council think that, is a step in the right direction, the teacher unions such as Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) think otherwise.
The National Teaching Council (NTC) observed that, this move which is in accordance with the new Teachers Licensing Policy under the Education Act 778 (2008) is to enforce discipline and eliminate non-performing teachers from the system.
This license according to experts, is to get rid of lazy and non-performing teachers in the educational sector, and as such, teachers would be required to prove their capabilities and achieve results, in their areas of specializations.
Another information I gathered is that, teachers whose student’s fail continuously in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), and other local and national examinations would not get their licenses renewed.
Personally, I do not see anything wrong with this idea because many countries like; Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Russia, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Sweden and United Kingdom have already embraced the idea of licensing teachers many years now, and are doing tremendously well. After all, if we the practitioners claim to be professionals, then one of the criteria for a professional is to be able to hold a license in his or her respective field.
But my question is, can teaching license alone guarantee effective teaching and learning?
Certainly not! I believe more important factors such as; the provision of teaching and learning materials, conducive learning environments like libraries, laboratories, conducive classrooms, staff motivation and effective supervision have to be considered to ensure that, the needed results we all aspire for, is achieved.
As it stands now, many schools are deplorable, most basic schools in Ghana do not even have textbooks, registers, teachers’ notebooks and common chalk. Government must consider making substantial investments in the provision of these materials while pursuing other issues as the licensing of teachers.
Supervision in the various districts must also, be strengthened by ensuring that, the needed logistics; vehicles, motorbikes and fuel are provided.
The current system where circuit supervisors travel on public transport (trotro) to supervise schools under their jurisdictions or made to buy motorbikes using their own resources is not helpful.
Successive governments- current and past, are all aware of these challenges facing the educational sector but are most often too quick to heap the problem of lack of quality education solely on teachers, because teachers do not seem to speak about these challenges for fear of being victimized by their authorities.
Perhaps it is time for teachers to speak openly about these needs, and stop shielding government else, they will be made escape goats!!
By Daniel Norris Bekoe, Lecturer, Department of Communication Studies,
Pentecost University College, Accra
Tel-0506581788
