Colleges of Education Applicants to Write Entrance Exams From August

New Update Fron NTC: Colleges of Education Applicants to Write Entrance Exams From August

Admission into Colleges of Education will no longer be a direct entry based on the results obtained at the WASSCE. The new directive indicates that all applicants who intend to gain admission would be required to write and pass an entrance examination.

The new entrance examination for persons who wish to become professional teachers through the Colleges of Education will write the Ghana Basic Education Skills Examination Test (GBEST). The exam will help to will assess the students in numeracy and literacy and also serve as the basis for admission into teacher training colleges in Ghana.

The Ghana Basic Education Skills Examination Test (GBEST) will become the new normal for entry into Colleges of Education. When the qualified and admitted candidates complete their study, they will write a level and subject-based licensure examination to be qualified as professional teachers.

The examination forms part of reforms being proposed by the National Teaching Council (NTC) to harmonise teacher education admissions in the country and also improve on teacher education as part of the educational reforms.

The Registrar of the NTC, Dr Christian Addai-Poku, said this at a one-day stakeholders’ engagement on the Ghana Teachers Licensure Examination (GTLE) in Kumasi.

The forum was attended by vice chancellors of the universities, principals and registrars of the colleges of education in the country and was to seek their input on the proposed reforms on the teacher licensure examinations and teacher education in the country.

He said the reforms were to ensure that students who applied to be trained as teachers had the required qualifications and disposition to become teachers.

GTLE

Since the introduction of the Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination in 2018, Dr Addai-Poku said the council had held seven successful examinations, where over 123,000 had sat for the examination in three subjects namely: literacy, essential professional skills and numeracy.

Out of this number, he said over 88,000 teachers passed, with 84 candidates who wrote it five times without success.

“Three hundred and seventy-two candidates have written it four (4) times but they are yet to pass. The mode of training of these candidates cuts across regular, online and distance programmes.

“How these candidates were able to pass through the teacher education programme successfully and yet are unable to pass basic skills in numeracy, literacy and essential professional skills remains unanswered,” he said.

READ: NTC ends teacher licensure exams reform stakeholder meeting

The reforms, he said, were, therefore, to ensure that there was a uniform admission criteria for all teacher education institutions in the country, adding that those who pursued education in other institutions such as the traditional universities would be made to write the GBEST before being allowed to do their Post-Graduate in Education course.

Question: Is The Decision That Colleges of Education Applicants Will Write Entrance Exams From August The Best?