CoE trained teachers cannot write single sentence – MoE official

Chief Director at the Ministry of Education, Divine Ayidzoe has called for the introduction of the College of Education entrance examination citing that the majority of trained teachers find it difficult to construct a single sentence.

“Trained teachers who have written BECE and WASSCE and undergone scrutiny at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and the University of Education (UEW) cannot write a single sentence. How are they going to teach?

So there is a call that from next year, entrance examination in Mathematics and English should be conducted so that, we get the best to enter our Colleges of Education,” he said at a stakeholder on teacher training.

The Education Ministry staff comment comes after the National Teaching Council (NTC) postponed the conduct of the entrance examination for WASSCE students seeking admission into public Colleges of Education in the country.

Earlier slated to be administered on August 2022, an official of the Council in a discussion told AcademicWeek.com his outfit at the appropriate time will communicate a suitable date to conduct the national examination to the public.

Dubbed the Ghana Basic Education Skills Examination Test (GBEST), Registrar of NTC, Dr Christian Addai Poku says the new entrance test will ensure WASSCE graduates entering the public College of Education are fully qualified.

In his address at a stakeholders engagement, the Executive Director of the National Council said the Ghana Basic Education Skills Examination Test (GBEST) will ensure public teacher training Colleges produce quality teachers.

“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 noted.

According to him, the College entrance examination forms part of reforms being proposed by NTC to harmonise teacher education admissions in the country and also improve teacher education as part of the educational reforms.