Online portals for the recruitment of 6,500 university graduate teachers and non-teaching staff will go live on Monday, November 2, 2020, the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has said.

He explained that financial clearance had been granted by the Ministry of Finance for the recruitment exercise.

Interested applicants, he added, are to access the Ghana Education Service (GES) official website: www.gespromotions.gov .gh, to complete online application forms.

Dr Prempeh announced this when he took his turn last Thursday to make a presentation in the on-going Nation Building Updates series being organised by the Ministry of Information at the Academy of Arts and Sciences in Accra.

Speaking on the topic “Teachers at the centre of quality education,” he set out the government’s achievements in respect of teacher reforms since 2017 under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Requirement

Last month, members of the unemployed graduate teachers from the various universities had planned to picket and hold a peaceful demonstration at the ministry but where given the assurance that they would be considered in the recruitment process before the end of the year.

To qualify for consideration, the applicant must have completed the Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE) and the mandatory national service.

Dr Prempeh said there had been increased enrolment numbers in the colleges of education from 44,813 in 2016/17 to 48,085 in 2018/19 in spite of the entry requirements being at par with traditional universities, saying that it was “a good time to be teacher.”

Career pathway

He said as part of the government’s determination to lift up the teaching profession, it had produced a policy framework for professional teacher development, which was piloted in five districts in Ghana.

“Spearheaded by the National Teaching Council (NTC), it is aimed at managing and developing teachers into highly proficient professionals,” he explained, adding that the policy would assist the teachers in their career progression to become consultant teachers or equip those interested in leadership and management of schools.

Professional allowance

Dr Prempeh announced that the ministry and the Ministry of Finance, Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and Union leaders signed a collective agreement with teacher unions in August 2020 on conditions of service for teachers.

He said the government had introduced GH¢1,200 per year for professional teachers and GH¢800 per year for non-professional teachers to enable them to invest in improving and upgrading their skills and keeping abreast of modern trends to assist in improving learning outcomes.

“We have also instituted Professional Development Days (PDD) and Professional Learning Communities (PLC) for teaching staff, where they would take time off work to develop their skills through note comparison,” the minister further announced.