The Institute of Education at the University of Cape Coast may have to start looking for examiners to mark the end-of-semester examination of students of the colleges of education.
This follows the decision of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) neither to invigilate the exam nor mark the scripts.
The CETAG has officially written to the director of the Institute of Education and copied the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, explaining the decision of members to distance themselves from the examination.
End of semester exam
The Institute of Education is the external examiner of the colleges of education in the country.
All the 38 colleges of education in the country, last Monday, began their end of semester examination which would be ending on Friday, February 7, 2014.
Normally, it is members of the CETAG who invigilate the examination and mark the scripts for the examining body (the Institute of Education) for it to award the class and certificate.
In an interview, the National President of the CETAG, Mr Joseph Nkyi Asamoah, confirmed the decision of members to distance themselves from the examination “because we think the examination has been compromised.”
CETAG’s strike
Giving a background to the standoff, Mr Asamoah said the CETAG, on January 20, 2014, declared a sit-down strike to protest poor conditions of service.
He said, however, that on January 20, 2014, the National Labour Commission (NLC) directed the members of the CETAG to call off the strike.
“We reminded the commission that we did not have the mandate to call off the strike that day because we had to call a council meeting, which was made up of representatives of all the 38 colleges of education in the country.
“We did call the meeting, and on Tuesday, February 28, 2014, we met. After deliberations, we called off the strike immediately,” he told the Daily Graphic.
Invigilators
Mr Asamoah said while they were making efforts to end the strike, the principals of all the colleges of education decided that the end of semester examination should go on as scheduled with or without members of the CETAG.
“The principals, working with the Institution of Education, decided to look for invigilators within and outside the colleges to invigilate the examination.
“While at some places, teachers in junior high and senior high schools have been engaged to invigilate, others have resorted to the use of kitchen staff, security officers and labourers of the schools in supervision of the ongoing examination,” Mr Asamoah alleged.
He described the action of the principals as a betrayal, adding that since they (CETAG members) were not involved in the invigilation, they had decided that they would not also mark the scripts.
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