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‘We shouldn’t see all teachers as hopeless over a few failures in licensure exam’ – Prof Adei
A former Rector of the Ghana Institute for Public Administration, GIMPA Prof. Stephen Adei, has urged critics and the public to desist from creating the impression that all teachers in the country are hopeless.
This follows a massive failure of teachers in the 2023 Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination organised by the National Teaching Council.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Upfront, on Wednesday, Prof Adei noted that the number of teachers that failed the exam is a small section compared to the over 300,000 teachers in the country, many of whom have successfully passed the exam.
He added that the teachers that failed in the 2023 May exams are those who failed previously in their multiple attempts to get through with the exams.
“When you look at the 7000, that are mostly repeated, the worst kind. You have over 350,000 teachers. So that’s why I’m saying you must put the 7,000 beside the over 350,000 so that you don’t give the impression that our teachers are all hopeless,” Prof Adei told the host, Isaac Kofi Agyei.
This comes after the National Teaching Council revealed that about 83.5% failed the teachers’ licensure exams held in May 2023.
The NTC noted that out of the 7,728 teachers who participated in the re-sit exams, only 1,277 passed.
The assessment in numeracy, literacy and professional knowledge is to enable qualified teachers to get a professional license, while attracting young graduates with the required professional knowledge and skills to teach.
Following the failure, the Registrar of the National Teaching Council (NTC), Christian Addai-Poku, told JoyNews that the teachers who failed would be given a last chance to re-sit.
However, some prospective students who are preparing to write the exams later this year
A student said, “most of us are doing our preparations on our own, some are relying on past questions, others have created a group to learn from each other.”
Another candidate said during the induction service they were advised to rely on pass questions as it was the best way to adequately prepare.
But Prof Adei believes that teachers do not have a right to demand for study material to aid them in adequately preparing for licensure exams.
According to him, although he has not seen the exam questions, most of the test materials are on topics that should be at the fingertips of professional teachers.
“I wish I had seen the examination because of what the NTC is saying, but basically for a teacher to be told that somebody should be given a syllabus on numeracy, just writing basic essay and you are a trained teacher and we are asking you about basic psychology, classroom management and the rest, and you say somebody should give you some material, you are indicting yourself,” he argued.
He stressed that the request by the teachers suggests that “ they are not qualified to be in the classroom.”
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
