The National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has taken a swipe at President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, following criticisms by proponents of the government over former President John Dramani Mahama’s promise to cancel the Teacher Licensing Examination, should he be voted into power again.

Speaking during a panel discussion on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana, the NDC communication officer said that proponents of the Akufo-Addo government are intentionally misconstruing Mahama’s promise to cancel Akufo-Addo’s licensure examination to mean that he would cancel teacher licensing.

He explained that there is no need for teachers, who have gone through several years of education to get their degrees, to take exams before they can be licensed to practise.

He said that President Akufo-Addo himself did not take any examination before he got his license to practise as a lawyer.

“Licensing teachers is one thing. Licensure examination is another thing. You can license a professional without examination… I’m a lawyer, I did not write a licensure examination before I got licensed to be a lawyer.

“The president is a lawyer. He did not write a licensure examination before he was licensed to practise as a lawyer. In fact, he never sat in a classroom to even study law, he never wrote a law examination. But because at the time, we had this apprenticeship system, they could be assigned to mentors to teach them the law and that is how he got his license to practise as a lawyer,” he said.

Sammy Gyamfi said that the Teacher Licensure Examination under the Akufo-Addo government is an unnecessary punishment to teachers which is why it would be abolished by the next NDC government.

“We have always maintained that, that policy is needless. It is obnoxious, it is grave injustice against teacher training, it is not fair. It is unjustifiable, it is unacceptable and must be abolished. And that is why President Mahama and the NDC have been consistent that when given the opportunity to govern this country, we would abolish it,” he said.

Watch Sammy Gyamfi’s remarks below:

Akufo Addo never sat in a classroom to study law, he is an apprentice lawyer ~ Sammy Gyamfi Esq pic.twitter.com/PMDC1Nl3fg

— The Second Coming Of JM (@MotiaNframa) November 23, 2023