The National Teaching Council (NTC) and the Ghana Education Service have urged non-professional teachers in basic and second-cycle institutions upgrade themselves.
The Council said it was offering a special opportunity to in-service non-professional teachers employed before September 2018 to undergo an exemption exercise to secure full license given to in-service professional teachers within two years after upgrading to a professional status.
A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency said the exemption period would come to an end in December 2024.
It said the Council as part of its mandate conducted compliance checks in senior high schools in six regions of the country, focusing much on teachers’ compliance with the law on teacher licensing.
The data revealed that 7100 teachers in the senior high schools of the six regions did not possess the right credentials to be in the classroom.
According to the statement, there is an estimated 30,000 of such teachers in the employment of Ghana Education Service and Ghana TVET Service.
“These are mostly non-professional teachers who were employed before the coming into force of the licensure regime in 2018. Per the transitional arrangement, such teachers need to be supported to obtain credentials that will qualify them for permanent registration and licensing,” it said.
The statement said sections of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act (2020), Act 1023 prohibit people from practicing as teachers unless registered.
It encouraged non-professional teachers to register and undergo a prescribed training that would lead to permanent registration and issuance of the appropriate licence to practise.
The statement said all degree holders shall enrol in a Postgraduate Diploma in Education programme in an accredited teacher education university and would be issued a teachers’ registration and licence upon successfully completing the programme.
It said the fast-track programme will last 16 weeks and shall be exclusively for those who were teachers before 30th September 2018.
The statement said all other categories of untrained teachers would be required to attend a week of training at designated institutions and be issued permanent registration upon successful completion of the training.
“Participants in these two programmes will not be required to write the licensure examination, as this forms part of the transitional arrangements for those who were employed by the Ghana Education Service before the introduction of the licensure examination in 2018,” it said.
The statement said the detailed arrangements, including fees, would be communicated in due course.
GNA
