The National Teaching Council (NTC) has announced that the National Teacher Licensure Examination has now been incorporated into the final assessment of teacher trainees and will no longer be conducted as a separate test. According to the Council, the examination has been revised and strengthened, with new features such as a practical component that accounts for 30 percent of the trainees’ final evaluation. Addressing a press briefing in Accra yesterday, NTC Board Chairman Emmanuel Kwame Alorvi dismissed claims that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government had failed to honour its pledge to abolish the licensure exam. He emphasised that the party’s manifesto clearly stated the exam would be embedded within the trainees’ final assessment
NDC position on licensure exam
Mr. Alorvi explained that the NDC’s 2024 election manifesto pledged to abolish the licensure exam in its existing form, citing a clause that stated: “The NDC shall abolish the teacher licensure examination and integrate the licensure process into the final year examination of teacher trainees.” He clarified that this commitment meant ending the practice where graduates had to complete college and then wait at home for a year before sitting for the exam.
He further noted that the old format consisted of a six-hour, paper-based test covering literacy, numeracy, and core professional skills, but lacked any practical assessment—even though teaching requires both pedagogical and subject knowledge. “The previous system had no teaching practice component; all new teachers wrote the exam without any practical element,” Mr. Alorvi emphasised. He said in fulfilment of the NDC pledge, the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, set up a seven-member committee to come up with modalities for implementing the government’s professional licensing policy.
Committee recommendation
“The committee’s report, presented to the Minister of Education on May 28, 2025, recommended a three-tier approach to implementing the government’s licensure policy. The first tier, he said, covered those resitting the exam and trainees who had completed college and were waiting to sit the exam in its old form,” he explained.
Mr Alorvi added that even though the old system was phased out in August 2025, by the time the committee was set up, there was a batch of teachers who completed college in 2025 and wanted to write the licensure examination under the previous regime, which meant they had to wait for one year. “Those who sat the previous year and were not successful were also given a chance. So, the first tier was concerned about those categories of students,” he explained.
Reformed licensure exam
The NTC Board Chairman gave an assurance that teacher trainees currently in college would write the reformed licensure as part of their final semester examination, and would not need to complete and wait for a whole year to write the licensure exam. Mr Alovi further clarified that the practical component currently included in the new licensure structure was missing in the old regime. “Teaching practice has been added, constituting 30 per cent of the total mark. Previously, it was only the literacy, numeracy, and professional skills that took 100 per cent of the licensure exam. “But the reform recognises that teaching involves both practical and content. So, 30 per cent of the teaching practice they did at college formed 30 per cent of their assessment in 2025. That’s the new reform,” Mr Alovi added.
Screening
Touching on the third tier, Mr Alorvi said a screening process needed to be put in place for prospective students to ensure that the right and qualified trainees entered the colleges. He expressed concern over the failure rate of trainees in the licensure examination, and wondered whether the fresh teachers were not preparing well, were not serious about their studies when they entered the colleges of education or whether those “that entered the colleges of education are not of the best quality.
“That is the recommendation that the NTC should engage all stakeholders, including the teacher unions, so that, if possible, we can screen the candidates going to the colleges of education. “If they don’t pass the screening process, they don’t enter because if they enter, that means they spend money on training allowance,” Mr Alovi said.
Writer’s email: severious.dery@graphic.com.gh
