By Dennis Peprah, GNA
Fiapre, (Bono), May 25, GNA – About 12,269 teachers in second-cycle institutions in the country do not possess the required professional teaching certificate, Mr Francis Addae, the Director of Teacher Licensing at the National Teaching Council (NTC), has disclosed.
He said that at the Basic School level, there were more than 100,000 teachers without the professional certificates too, however added that many of the teachers were graduates from other professions.
Mr Addae said the figures came to light after a recent compliance exercise conducted by the NTC, describing the situation as worrying.
He was speaking at a special matriculation ceremony held at the CUG Main Campus at Fiapre, near Sunyani on Monday, to officially admit 75 students to pursue the PGDE programme.
Mr Addae encouraged non-professional teachers to take advantage of the PGDE programme, saying that the NTC would soon undertake enforcement exercises to ensure that only teachers with professional certificates were in the classrooms.
He said: “A time will come when non-professional teachers can’t be engaged in the system if they don’t possess the required professional qualifications and licenses.”
Mr Addae commended the CUG for being the only private university in the country selected to partner with the NTC for the PGDE programme.
“The CUG is the only private university among five selected universities in the country collaborating with the NTC and undertaking a PGDE programme to train and professionalize teachers across the country and must be commended,” he stated.
Mr Addae praised Dr Jacob A.N. Maabobr Kor, a lecturer at the Faculty of Education of the CUG in particular for playing an instrumental role in the smooth coordination and successful introduction of the PGDE programme at the institution.
He said the mandate of the NTC was to regulate the teaching profession in the country by ensuring that only qualified professionals were allowed to teach.
Earlier in a welcoming address, Prof Mathew Glover Addo, the Vice Chancellor of the CUG, said the NTC provided the details of 341 candidates for consideration by CUG for admission. However, 75 of them were successfully enrolled.
He said the admission of the students marked a significant milestone in the history of the university, saying that: “The ceremony isn’t only a celebration of academic pursuit but also a reaffirmation of our collective commitment to quality education and professional excellence”.
Prof Addo explained that the SPGDE was initiated by section 67 (1) of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020, Act 1023 to train non-professional teachers, saying that it would increase the number of professional teachers in rural communities.
He advised the students as pioneers to be dedicated, and visionary, disciplined, saying that the SPGDE programme was a strategic collaboration between the CUG and the University of Ghana and the NTC aimed at strengthening teacher professionalism and improving the quality of education in the country.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Dennis Peprah
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