GNACOPS gives update on private school teachers license
The Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) following the National Teaching Council (NTC) decision to issue private school teachers licenses has explained the technicalities of the issuance of the temporal license.
In a brief discussion with AcademicWeek, the Director of the Council, Enoch Gyetuah said as private school proprietors are mandated to absorb the licensing cost, the temporary license will be issued to a school to cover a teacher.
“The temporarily licensing is issued to the Service Institution to cover teachers and not to the teacher to cover the Service Institutions, hence the School is liable to pay and keep the license,” he told AcademicWeek’s Editorial Staff.
This Obengfo Gyetuah said is to ensure that private school teachers issued the temporary Teaching Council’s license are monitored, supervised and also assisted to enroll or take programmes to upgrade themselves for a full license
“This will also bring sanity into the system where the regulator would be convinced that the issuance of the licensing can easily be monitored and determined progression in the teaching fraternity,” the Private Schools Director noted.
He also indicated that “the temporarily licensed teacher status ceases to function immediately a private school teacher leaves the initial service institution that registered him or her for the National Teaching Council (NTC) license.”
“This would help to solve the issue of low retention rate in private schools that negatively affects learning outcomes. This also means that those who don’t desire to be teachers would not be employed in private schools,” Enoch said.
Asked if the transfer of the license from one teacher to another teacher is applicable, he said “transfer of license from school A to school B as a teacher by just changing a school is not allowed unless the new school starts the registration processes again with NTC.”
Slated to start in early September, the GNACOPS official noted the temporal license registration exercise will end on November 15, 2022. Mr Enoch Gyetuah however said there will be an extension of the date if the need is.
Asked how much a private school teacher will pay for the 2-year period temporal license subject to a 1-year renewal, the GNACOPS staff said “we are discussing the cost with the NTC but a teacher will not pay more than GH¢300.”
