The National Teaching Council (NTC) has intensified efforts to sanitise the teaching profession as more than 100,000 non-professional teachers continue to teach in basic and private schools across the country without the required qualifications and licences.

The council said the situation posed a major threat to the quality of education, particularly in rural communities where unqualified teachers continued to dominate classrooms.

The Director in charge of Teacher Licensing at the NTC, Francis Addae, disclosed this during a special matriculation ceremony for students admitted into the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) programme at the Catholic University of Ghana (CUG) last Monday.

Compliance exercise

According to him, a recent compliance exercise conducted in second-cycle schools revealed that about 12,279 graduate teachers lacked professional teaching certificates required for licensing.

Mr Addae warned that non-professional teachers who failed to regularise their status risked being removed from classrooms in the future.

“The time will come when you may not be allowed to teach," he cautioned.

Prof. Matthew Glover Addo,  Vice-Chancellor of the Catholic University of Ghana, addressing the special matriculation.

He explained that the PGDE programme formed part of efforts by the council to help non-professional teachers acquire the required qualifications and become licensed professionals.

Mr Addae disclosed that although more than 12,000 non-professional graduate teachers had been identified at the senior high school level, only about 1,421 were currently enrolled in the programme nationwide.

He urged affected teachers to take advantage of the initiative and also encourage their colleagues to enrol in subsequent cohorts expected later this year.

Mr Addae revealed that the programme had been heavily subsidised to make it affordable, reducing fees from between GH¢8,000 and GH¢9,000 to GH¢5,000 payable in instalments.

He added that female teachers aged 35 years and below would also benefit from financial support under the Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP).

Upgrade

For his part, the Vice-Chancellor of the Catholic University of Ghana, Professor Matthew Glover Addo, underscored the urgent need for non-professional teachers, particularly those serving in rural communities, to upgrade themselves professionally.

He said the rapidly evolving nature of education now demanded more than subject knowledge.

Prof. Addo explained that modern teaching required professional pedagogical skills, classroom management techniques, educational psychology, assessment strategies and ethical professionalism.

He said the programme was introduced in line with Section 67(1) of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023), which states that a person cannot practice as a teacher unless registered as a professional teacher.

According to him, the programme sought to address persistent teacher shortages in rural communities by increasing the number of professionally trained teachers in deprived areas.

He said the NTC submitted 341 candidates to the university for consideration under the programme, out of which 75 successfully enrolled.

Accept postings

Prof. Addo commended the matriculants for accepting to work in rural communities despite the reluctance of many professional teachers to accept postings to such areas.

He urged the students to uphold discipline, dedication, academic excellence and high moral values throughout their studies.

Prof. Addo further described teaching as “not merely a profession but a noble vocation that shapes the future of nations.”