The Ashanti Regional wing of the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) has bemoaned the inclusion of teachers in private schools in the enforcement of the teacher licensing law.
According to the association, the enforcement of the teacher licensing law to cover private school teachers will lead to the closure of schools.
They, therefore, want the National Teaching Council (NTC) to exclude the private schools.
Speaking on the sidelines of a conference held in Kumasi, the Acting President of the association, Philip Boakye Yiadom, noted most Private School teachers are Senior High School (SHS) graduates who may not have the resources required to undertake the course to enable them acquire a Teacher’s licence which would be in contravention of the Teacher Licensing law.
“If I can’t support my teachers who do not have the financial standing to apply for the license, it implies that I would have to allow them to leave my school just to avoid being prosecuted by NTC,” he said.
He explained that: “Some of these SHS students accept the teaching job in these schools just to gather money for studies at the tertiary level and can resign or leave the school at any time without telling the proprietors even if they have the license.”
Mr Boakye stressed that enforcing the law to cover private schools will cripple the private school sector.
“The enforcement of the Act will kill the private schools because if a proprietor can’t get a teacher who is licensed to teach, it will mean that the proprietor will have to close down his school for the fear of prosecution.”
He however stressed that the law can be applicable to teachers in public schools since they are permanent workers and earn higher salaries their counterparts in private schools.
The Ashanti Regional Director of the National Teaching Council (NTC), James Obeng noted the enforcement of the Teacher licensing law is taking off and so people who flout the law will be penalised.
“Now we are moving into the licensing enforcement state and we have already started so anybody who does not have the authorisation (license) to teach.
The NTC will deal with that person because the law is clear,” Mr Obeng revealed.
He therefore urged teachers in both public and private schools to acquire a teaching license in order to avoid prosecution.