UCC tops with highest percentage failure rate in Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination

According to recent analysis spanning three years of the examination’s existence, the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has been identified as the university with the highest percentage of failures in the Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination.

This revelation was made by Dr. Christian Adai Poku, the Registrar of the National Teaching Council (NTC), during his appearance on the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) Sunday night’s current affairs program “TALKING POINT” on June 25, 2023.

The statistics show a failure rate of 47% at the University of Cape Coast, while the University of Education recorded 45% and the Colleges of Education had a failure rate of 26%. Interestingly, the results suggest that candidates from Colleges of Education tend to perform better than their counterparts from universities.

Commenting on the comparatively lower failure rates in the Colleges of Education, Prof. Samuel Atintono, the President of the Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education and Principal of Accra College of Education, attributed their success to the use of a standardized curriculum. This curriculum encompasses training on the National Teachers Standards and other essential materials for teacher preparation.

In the background, the recently released results of the 2023 Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination revealed that a total of 6,451 teachers (83.5% of participants) failed the exam.

These results were made public by the National Teaching Council after the teachers had taken the re-sit papers. Out of the 7,728 teachers who participated in the re-sit exams, only 1,277 passed. Dennis Osei-Owusu, the Public Relations Officer for the Council, expressed concerns about the implications of the licensure re-sit exam outcomes on the education sector.

He emphasized that the results pose a national security threat, questioning the quality of training received by some of the teachers in their respective training institutions.

Osei-Owusu outlined alternative measures for candidates who failed the licensure re-sit exams. He explained that candidates would have another opportunity to write the exam. However, the nature of the exams will undergo a reform.

Only teachers with bachelor’s degrees would be eligible for this reform. Candidates without a bachelor’s degree would need to obtain one before being able to sit for the reformed exam.

The situation highlights the need for comprehensive reforms in teacher education and preparation, as well as stricter measures to ensure the competence of teachers entering the classroom.

The National Teaching Council’s efforts to address these issues through reforms and upgrading requirements for teacher licensure aim to enhance the quality of education in Ghana and ensure that teachers are well-equipped to nurture the country’s future generations.

SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh