Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has confirmed that Ghana will phase out the standalone teacher licensure examination and replace it with assessments conducted during the final year of training at universities and colleges of education, ending a system that has drawn criticism since its introduction.
Speaking on TV3 on Thursday, Iddrisu said the transition is being managed by a committee led by the National Teaching Council (NTC), and that a special arrangement was recently approved for the University of Ghana after the institution formally requested permission to conduct one final examination for a specific cohort of graduates who had already completed their programmes.
“There will be an end to licensure exams. We are not going to continue it as government,” he stated.
The announcement builds on the minister’s directive issued in July 2025, when he disclosed that the new assessment model would go beyond paper-based examinations to incorporate supervised practical evaluations and structured mentorship programmes, ensuring trainee teachers demonstrate actual classroom competence, not just theoretical knowledge.
Teacher Welfare and Unpaid Arrears
Iddrisu acknowledged that some teachers have not received their full compensation, and said his ministry is in active discussions with the Finance Minister and the Controller and Accountant General to resolve the outstanding payments. He said a commitment had been made to release a percentage of the arrears owed and that work on disbursement was ongoing.
The minister also flagged a decline in professional standards, saying examination results he had reviewed recently were concerning, and attributed part of the problem to weaknesses in application-based learning. He said improvement would require continuous professional development, better motivation and financial incentives for teachers posted to rural areas.
Decentralisation and Free SHS Funding
Iddrisu said Cabinet is considering a proposal to direct one percent of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) toward education as part of a broader plan to shift recruitment and resource decisions to the district level.
On the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme, he said no student is going without food, pointing to the GH¢4.2 billion allocated through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to finance Free SHS, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and free tertiary education for persons with disability.
The minister also said the government plans to introduce free education for students with special needs, provide assistive devices and increase the feeding grant from GH¢8 to GH¢15. He added that the ministry is working to reduce the proportion of boarding students in urban schools while maintaining boarding facilities in rural and peri-urban areas.
