The Registrar of the Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE), Dr. Christian Addai-Poku, has revealed that out of the 7,728 prospective teachers who sat for the licensure examination last month, only 1,277 passed, which means 6,481 teachers failed.
The figure represents 16.5 percent of the candidates who sat again for the examination, introduced to license teaching practitioners.
According to the Registrar, all the candidates had sat for the exam at least twice, with some sitting as many as nine times. He explained that those affected had one more chance to re-write the exam in the latter part of the year before its format and content changed.
He said candidates who would fail at their last chance and would want to continue to resit the exam, would be those with first degree.
He stated that “those with a diploma will be required to upgrade themselves to acquire a first degree before they can resit the exam.
We are reforming and restructuring the examination and we will start it this year with those who have qualified to write it for the first time.”
He said unlike the current examination where the candidates were examined in numeracy, literacy, and professional skills, this time around, they would have to be examined in a specific area of specialty.
Dr. Addai-Poku further explained that a candidate who aspired to teach geography must, in addition to the three areas, be examined in geography.
The NTLE was introduced by the government in 2019 backed by the Education Act of 2008, Act 778, with the first-ever teacher licensure exams taking place in September 2018.
The first licensure exams took place in September 2018 and over 28,000 newly-trained teachers.
The introduction of teacher license and continuous professional development were key policies being pursued by the government through the NTC, which was aimed at improving the professional standing and status of teachers in the country.
