GNAT Protests Against CoE Entrance Exam, PRINCOF Endorses it

GNAT Protests Against The Ghana Basic Education Skills Examination Test (GBEST) also known as (CoE Entrance Exam) whiles PRINCOF Endorses it: Read their issues of Law and Principles outlined in their rejection as against the reasons why the PRINCOF is giving it a thumbs up.

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has rejected the Ghana Basic Education Skills Examination Test (GBEST) to be written by College of Education applicants before they are admitted into the various colleges. The examination which would be administered by the National Teaching Council aims at testing students on numeracy and literacy before given then admission. Only candidates who will pass the Ghana Basic Education Skills Examination Test (GBEST) will be considered for admission to pursue various teacher education programmes in public teacher training institutions.

This new test has been hailed by The Principals of Colleges of Education (PRINCOF). They argued that the test will ensure quality teachers are posted to teach. This reason for their acceptance of the test is worrying since the test will be conducted prior to the student gaining admission and receiving tuition and not after their training in the CoE.

The main argument put forth by the PRINCOF in support of the new policy is that the test will help to ensure only those who are committed and can undergo training as teachers are enrolled. The body added that the examination is not new since it existed in the 90s.

The reintroduction of the entrance examination into Colleges of Education which are degree-awarding institutions and no more teacher Certificate A awarding institutions has brought division between teachers as far as the reintroduction of the entrance examination is concerned.

GNAT Protests Against CoE Entrance Exam: Issues of Law and Principles

The rejection of the entrance examination by the  Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) is based on the following issues of law and principles outlined by the union.

1. The Ghana National Association of Teachers, GNAT, protests against the National Teaching Council (NTC), for, once again, attempting to craft a policy and arbitrarily foist it on the education enterprise. We wish to draw the attention of the NTC to Section 60 (a), Part 3 of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020, which stipulates the functions of the NTC, as Advising the Minister (for Education) on matters relating to the professional standing… of teachers among others, and allow the Ghana Education Service (GES) to play its role as the lead agency for the implementation of approved policies and programes at the pre-tertiary level, and not to subsume it. The NTC should cease being a Regulator and Implementer; it does not have the mandate to be so.

2. The GNAT is tired and wearied with this idea of throwing out policies and programmes into the educational milieu without consultations with Bodies that matter. We, therefore, register our frustrations with such off-the-head pronouncements and call for an immediate stop to them, forthwith. We wish to reiterate, that we are not against reforms to education; we stand for the best for education in the country; however, we won’t stand for policies, programmes, and pronouncements off-the-cuff; the Agencies vested with the powers must be allowed to work, and in or out, only when the proper consultations have taken place and consensus reached. We ask for nothing more than this.

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The above summarizes the position of GNAT which it has made public and known to the NTC and other state education managing institutions to ensure the right things are done based on law and principles.