Teacher licensure exams, curriculum of Colleges of Education (CoE) to be reviewed –  Haruna Iddrisu

Licensure exams and the curriculum of Colleges of Education are to be reviewed and not scrapped as was made public. 

The incoming Minister of Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, during his ministerial vetting, indicated that during his tenure, the Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE) and the curriculum of Colleges of Education will be reviewed. The member of parliament for the Tamale South Constituency made this known while responding to questions posed to him by the minority leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin at the vetting on 20th January 2025.

Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, through the reviewing curriculum of Colleges of Education, will have the Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE) fused into the curriculum. The incorporation of the Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE) will be done to ensure it is part of the final year programme of the teachers under training in the colleges.

H furthered that students under training in the respective CoE will take the GTLE on their campuses before they complete their education and leave campus.

As part of efforts to reform teacher education and training in Ghana and make Ghanaian-trained teachers competitive and internationally recognised, the GTLE was introduced by the National Teaching Council. It becomes a crucial layer in the preparation of teachers for work under the Ghana Education Service (GES).

Passing the exam was the only way a trained and graduated teacher was guaranteed a chance to apply for posting as a teacher under the GES. However, teachers who passed the GTLE gained professional license as teachers, which means their status was also recognized in Ghana and abroad.

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The minister-designate added that the exam will not be scrapped but rather integrated into the curriculum so that trainees do not have to complete their training and only return to write an exam they could have written while in school. He was hopeful that the review will make the licensure exams more accessible and convenient for trainees.