MoE asked to extend entrance exams to all tertiary institution

Education think tank – Africa Education Watch has called on the Ministry of Education (MoE) to conduct an entrance examination for all applicants seeking admission into any of the public tertiary institutions in the country from 2023.

The Education Watch recommendation comes after the Chief Director of the Education Ministry, Divine Ayidzoe said College of Education teachers cannot write a single sentence thus the need to introduce the entrance test next year.

“If we are talking about teacher quality, I think it is time. Even the licensure exam data shows that trained teachers who have written BECE, and WASSCE and undergone scrutiny at UCC and UEW cannot write a single sentence

How are they going to teach? So there is a call that from next year, entrance exams in Mathematics and English should be conducted so that we get the best to enter our Colleges of Education,” the MoE official told stakeholders.

But, Executive Director of EduWatch, Kofi Asare reacting to the MoE official claim said for quality assurance all applicants seeking to enter into tertiary institutions must sit for an entrance exam before being given admission.

“CoE applicants possess WASSCE credit passes in Math & English. If for quality assurance, you can’t rely on that, warranting an entrance exam in Maths & English, fine. But, apply the same to all tertiary institutions. Quality matters everywhere,” he stated.

The entrance test dubbed Ghana Basic Education Skills Examination Test (GBEST) is to ensure students seeking to pursue teacher education in public Colleges of Education are qualified to be trained as professional teachers.

Registrar of NTC, Addai Poku at a stakeholders’ meeting on the reform of the conduct of the teacher licensure test said the 2023 Ghana Basic Education Skills Examination Test (GBEST) will access students in numeracy and literacy.

Prospective students who become successful at the Ghana Basic Education Skills Examination Test (GBEST), Dr Christian Addai Poku said will be given admission to pursue teacher education courses in public Colleges of Education (CoE).

“The GBEST will, thus, be used as the entry assessment for the trainee teachers and after completion, the students will be made to write a level and subject-based licensure examination to be qualified as professional teachers,” he stated.