The government’s announcement of its intention to abolish the Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE) has reignited a critical national conversation about teacher quality, professionalism, and the future of education reform in Ghana. While well-meaning reform is always welcome, caution must guide any action that risks reversing the considerable gains made in professionalising the teaching profession over the past seven years.

When the GTLE was first proposed, I was among those who initially advocated for a different approach. Drawing on international experience, I recommended that Ghana consider the Scottish model, where newly qualified teachers attain professional certification through portfolio development and structured induction, a system I personally experienced when earning my first Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in the United Kingdom.

However, during extensive stakeholder consultations at the time, it became evident that the National Teaching Council (NTC) lacked the institutional maturity and infrastructure to implement such a complex system. In Scotland, the General Teaching Council has evolved over six decades to reach its current sophisticated form. Ghana’s system was not yet ready for that path.

Recognising these realities, I subsequently supported the pragmatic alternative of professional examinations, inspired by the model used in England, where I later obtained my second QTS-although the national skills tests in literacy and numeracy were abolished in 2020. This system required prospective teachers to demonstrate their readiness through objective, independent assessments before stepping into classrooms.

Today, the GTLE stands as a landmark achievement. Beyond its domestic impact, the licensure examination has gained international recognition, positioning Ghana among the top-tier countries whose teachers can transition into British and other Commonwealth educational systems with relative ease. Indeed, Ghana’s elevation in global teacher mobility rankings has been partly attributable to the standards established through the GTLE.

The progress is tangible. For the first time, Ghanaian teachers are being recognised at the global level, with nominations for prestigious awards such as the Global Teacher Prize. These successes are not accidental; they are the product of deliberate reforms that have enhanced teacher quality, professional pride, and international competitiveness.

It is within this context that the proposal to abolish the GTLE must be critically examined. During the 2024 electoral season, when I chaired the New Patriotic Party’s Education Manifesto Committee, we engaged extensively with all major stakeholders, including the three pre-tertiary teacher unions (GNAT, NAGRAT, and CCT), the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), the Teacher Trainees’ Association of Ghana (TTAG), and the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG).

Their collective voice was unequivocal: the licensure examination must not be scrapped. Instead, they proposed a reasonable reform to integrate the GTLE into the final year assessment of pre-service teachers, following the practice in the nursing and midwifery sectors, where students complete licensure examinations before graduation.

This alternative would ease the burden on trainees while preserving the essential gatekeeping function that licensure examinations perform. It would maintain professional rigour without compromising accessibility.

The broader principle at stake must not be lost. Every true profession, be it law, medicine, accountancy, or engineering, requires independent certification as a safeguard for the public interest. Teaching, entrusted with the intellectual, moral, and civic formation of our youth, cannot afford to be treated differently.

If we accept the argument that pre-service academic training alone suffices to certify competence, then by the same logic, we should abolish licensure examinations for nurses, midwives, and medical doctors, among others. Yet no serious country would contemplate such a move, because the stakes are simply too high. Teaching is no different.

Moreover, abolishing the GTLE without a strong and credible replacement mechanism risks sending the wrong signal internationally. It risks devaluing the hard-won recognition Ghanaian teachers now enjoy globally. It risks diluting the standards that underpin public confidence in our education system. And it risks undermining the very professionalism that the country has laboured to build over the last decade.

Rather than rushing to dismantle the GTLE, the government must engage deeply and meaningfully with stakeholders to chart a thoughtful path forward. Reform, where needed, should enhance quality, not lower the bar. Transition plans must be transparent, credible, and anchored in strengthening institutional capacity, not undermining it.

The goal must be clear: to safeguard the future of Ghana’s children by ensuring that every teacher who steps into a classroom is equipped, empowered, and truly world-class.

Progress in education is hard-earned and easily lost. We must hasten slowly and guard jealously the gains we have made.

******

The writer, Dr Prince Hamid Armah, was the former Deputy Works and Housing Minister and Kwesimintsim MP