Registrar of the National Teaching Council (NTC), Dr. Christian Addai-Poku, has revealed that 68 percent of Ghanaian teachers meet the required standards, based on the results of the Teacher Licensure Examination.

Speaking on the EduTalk Show on JoyNews, hosted by Emefa Apawu, Dr. Addai-Poku said that the performance of teachers over the last seven has been above average.

The Teacher Licensure Examination was introduced in 2018 as part of a broader effort to ensure that teachers possess the necessary skills and knowledge to deliver quality education. The assessment was intended to serve as a benchmark for determining whether teachers met the right standards to be employed in the Ghana Education Service (GES).

According to Dr. Addai-Poku, the average pass rate for these exams has consistently hovered around 68% since its inception.

"Using the licensure exams as the benchmark, averagely we’re having about 68 percent of the teachers being of the right standards because that’s how the pass rate has been hovering about," he explained.

This consistent pass rate, according to the NTC Registrar, is a strong indicator that significant majorities of Ghanaian teachers possess the requisite qualifications and competencies to be in the classroom.

He stressed that the exams are not meant to discourage or disqualify teachers but rather to ensure that the teaching profession maintains high standards.

Despite the general success of the teacher licensure exams, there was a period that sparked nationwide controversy and concern.

Dr. Addai-Poku recounted the events that led to a shocking 16% pass rate, a significant departure from the average 68%. The incident occurred during a transitional phase in the examination process, which caused widespread furor among stakeholders in the education sector.

"The licensure exams generally have not been too bad. The pass rate, on average, from 2018 to 2024 has been around 68 percent. There were two examinations that were written that brought a lot of furor into the system," Dr. Addai-Poku stated.

He explained that during this transition, the NTC temporarily halted the exams for new candidates and instead focused on candidates who had previously failed and were resitting the exams.

"We were transitioning from the traditional licensure exams, and in the course of the transition, we halted people who were writing and decided to focus on those who had written and had not been successful. We call them re-sitters. We brought them together, and they wrote the exams. That was when we had 16 percent pass, and it almost created problems for everybody," he recounted.

This significant drop in the pass rate led to widespread speculation and criticism, with many questioning the quality of teachers that were recruited into the classrooms. However, Dr. Addai-Poku clarified that this was an isolated incident and not indicative of the overall performance of teachers in Ghana. He reiterated that the licensure examination pass has been around 68 percent.

The NTC Registrar pointed out that the Ghana Education Service (GES) continues to recruit a large number of teachers each year, all of whom have passed the Teacher Licensure Exams.

On average, over 20,000 teachers are recruited annually by the GES. This, according to Dr. Addai-Poku, is proof that the majority of Ghanaian teachers meet the required standards, contrary to the perception that a significant number of teachers fail the exams.

"So clearly, the perception out there that everybody fails is not true," he emphasised, seeking to dispel the negative narrative that has surrounded the Teacher Licensure Exams.

The introduction of the Teacher Licensure Exams has undoubtedly raised the bar for the teaching profession in Ghana. While the exams have faced their fair share of challenges and controversies, the overall pass rate of 68% demonstrates that a majority of Ghanaian teachers meet the right standards to deliver quality education.

As the NTC continues to refine and improve the examination process, it is expected that the standards of teaching in Ghana will continue to rise, ultimately benefiting the students who rely on these educators for their academic and personal development.