Dr Evelyn Oduro, Executive Secretary of the National Teaching Council (NTC) of the Ministry of Education, has said the planned licensing examination programme for teachers is aimed at providing professional development for teachers in Ghana.

The NTC has said teachers will now have to pass a special examination before being granted the license to teach. This, according to the body, is to ensure discipline and eliminate non-performing teachers from the system.

Speaking on this programme in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom, on Accra 100.5FM on Friday, Dr Oduro explained: “The examination is not going to be like the classroom kind of examination where the teachers will sit and answer questions as school children. This is a professional examination, and so we are not putting them in a room to pick pen and paper to write this or that.”

She added: “We haven’t even decided on the format that we are going to use but it won’t be the classroom type. We are going to meet with the teacher unions and agree on the format. We need to focus on the benefits that this arrangement will bring to us as a nation rather than looking at the negatives. This will rather give the teachers continuous professional development.”