Ghana’s teacher licensure system is a key safeguard for educational quality, and efforts to undermine it risk harming the profession, Dr. Barnabas Addai Amanfo, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Educational Studies (IES), has said.
President Mahama, who previously promised to cancel teacher licensure exams while in opposition, has allowed the exercise to proceed, with teachers scheduled to sit the exams nationwide on Tuesday (24 March).
Speaking on The Forum on Asaase Radio, Amanfo said licensure ensures that only qualified teachers enter the classroom. He further criticized some teachers and unions for politicizing licensure debates
“By best practices, when we study professions, one feature that doesn’t miss out is licensure. If teaching is a profession, the regulatory function – which is licensing – is very important,” he told the host Wilberforce Asare.
“I get quite incensed that you get professional teachers supporting politicians, and when you follow the campaign platforms there were not common stands. You hear that the licensure exams will be cancelled, and after winning elections the arguments shifted somehow,” Amanfo said.
He noted that teacher licensure protects both students and parents by ensuring that trained professionals handle classroom instruction.
“By professional point of view, we should be happy that this licensing regime is available. It should be a starting point for teacher unions to stand on it and ask for more allowances from government,” he added.
“In January 2023, about 15,000 Ghanaian teachers applied for Qualified Teacher Status in the UK, and by June 10,000 qualified – because of the licensing regime we have here,” he said.
He called for ongoing reforms and innovation within the licensure framework while maintaining its integrity.
“We can always improve, but it is something we need to uphold, innovate, and see if we can improve on the system that we have,” Amanfo said.
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