The Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) has hinted to roll out a 4-year degree in International education program to licensed private school teachers in the country.

The soon to be rolled 4-year degree in international education program is to train all private school teachers or graduates without teaching license to be professionals in the field and be licensed.

The Executive Secretary of GNACOPS, Mr Enoch Kwesi Gyetuah disclosed this in an exclusive interview with Georgeweb.org on Wednesday 22 July 2020.

Speaking in the interview Mr Enoch Kwesi Gyetuah indicated that the 4-year degree education program will start in September 2020 for all private school teachers in the sixteen (16) regions in Ghana.

Mr Kwesi Gyetuah added that teachers from other countries can also join the education program.

The Council’s decision to start this program follows a comment by the National Teaching Council (NTC) to phase out teachers without professional teaching licenses from all private schools in the country.

The Executive Secretary of the National Teaching Council (NTC), Christian Addai Poku in an interview disclosed that his outfit is collaborating with proprietors of private schools on a roadmap to remove unqualified teachers on their payroll.

He explained that this will ensure any person who teaches in a private or public school has been certified through the Ghana Teacher licensure examination conducted by the National Teaching Council.

The Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) in line with the NTC has disclosed to roll out the intervention program to sustain all the hard-working teachers in various private schools who are currently not licensed.

“Currently, about 80% of teachers in private schools in Ghana are unprofessional teachers particularly the Senior High School graduates, ….so this program focuses on the SHS graduates and Degree holders who are not teachers but want to become professional teachers, this is a program designed for them and it will be a Teacher training “.

The GNACOPS Executive Secretary, however, said the program is mandatory for all private school teachers without a teaching license, particularly for those who have not gone to teacher training college.

Content delivery approach According to him the 4-year degree in international education program will be conducted virtually and face to face when the COVID-19 situation is brought under control.

Academic calendar Explaining the academic year calendar for the program, Mr Gyetuah said there will be 180 days (off-campus) and 90 days (in-campus) sessions for teachers. This means that teachers will spend 180 days with practical work in the schools they teach and 90 days for the theory aspect of the program.

Assessment type He said a teacher after successful completion of the 4-year program will be accessed and licensed by the National Teaching Council (NTC) as a professional teacher using Modular and Cumulative Assessment.

Benefits

The Executive Secretary said such teachers will have their academic certificate as a Degree in international education and will be able to teach in public schools as well as any country since it will be an internationally recognised teaching certificate.

Additionally, the National Teaching Council (NTC) will licence them to work in the country as a professional teacher. Course duration He indicated that the degree in international education program is a four-year course saying that “depending on the initial certificate you are bringing, if the initial certificate you’re bringing is a degree certificate then you’ll be subjected to write an exam and base on the outcome of the results will determine whether you will do a 1, 2, 3 or the 4-year course”.

“So Senior High School (SHS) graduates will do 4 years, diploma holders in other fields of studies will do 2 years and let’s say degree holders will do one year respectively” Mr Enoch Gyetuah assumed.

He said every student under the program will have a portal whereby they will record their teaching and submit online for assessment. He noted that the course is a 70% intensive practical and 30% theory.

Fees

Mr Gyetuah, when asked if there will be any fee-paying, said “there will be a fee-paying, the leadership of Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) will in due course announce the fees to be paid by a student”

Certification

Successful applicants after their course duration will be awarded a Degree in International Pre-tertiary Education Certificate “the National Teaching Council (NTC) will through this certificate license them as professional teachers” he said. Source: