Delayed payment of allowance affects trainees - TTAG
Due to severe economic hardship, the government is said to have fallen behind on paying teacher trainees' allowance for about 7 months.
The Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG) claims that the development has made things more difficult financially for trainees all around the nation.
Jonathan Dzunu, the national president of the TTAG, explained that the allocation for the academic year 2021–2022, which runs from January to July 2022, is 7 months behind schedule.
TTAG's 26th General Assembly was taking place at the St. Francis College of Education in Hohoe, in the Volta Region, when he delivered his remarks.
According to Mr. Dzunu, teacher candidates still have a hard time paying for their maintenance and finding academic supplies in schools.
He said that the payment had protected teacher candidates as they studied and gained classroom experience in elementary schools, acting as an intervention to reduce poverty.
He claimed that due to suppliers' reluctance to deliver food to the colleges because of their failure to pay for prior supplies, there will soon be a food crisis in the institutions of education.
"Given the current economic situation in the nation, you can only understand the struggle students are facing; for us, life on campus without an allowance has become intolerably unpleasant.
Considering the historical context that led to the implementation of the allowance scheme and the positive impact it has had on teacher education in particular and basic education in general over the years, he said, "Madam Chairperson, it is our opinion that the colossal delay in payment of allowances is going to send the clock backwards and the little successes chalked up as a result of the implementation of the teacher trainee allowance whittle away.
Due to the current economic and financial crisis, Mr. Dzunu pleaded with the government not to use the teacher trainee as a sacrifice lamb and urged that "utmost importance should be assigned to the payment of teacher trainees' allowance."
License verification test
To address the high failure rate, Mr. Dzunu also advised that the courses provided in universities include the teacher licensure examinations that were launched three years ago.
Since the majority of student teachers are unaware of the teaching standards and framework, the National Teaching Standards and the National Curriculum Framework should be included in the course curriculum of institutions of education.
We believe that the high failure rate might be significantly reduced if student teachers were given ample opportunity to undergo some type of practical training prior to taking the licensure examination and were guided thoroughly through the courses on the exam.
According to the information that is currently available, 69 percent of the 128,493 applicants who took the licensing exam within the last three years succeeded.
372 candidates have taken the exam four times, and 84 candidates have taken it five times, but none of them have succeeded.
Mr. Dzunu argues that this is troubling and makes a suggestion that the TTAG meet with stakeholders to discuss the idea and develop a strategy for its effective implementation.
infrastructure difficulty
Mr. Dzunu emphasized the problems with the infrastructure and how they are interfering with academic activity, "forcing Colleges of Education to run a double track system."
He bemoaned the fact that projects begun in 2016 to build lecture halls, dorms, classrooms, teacher bungalows, and other facilities have halted for unknown reasons.
He suggested that in order to ensure that there is sufficient infrastructure to house all of the 4-year groups on campus, the government work in tandem with philanthropic organizations and benefactors.
He also urged the teacher unions to work with the management of colleges of education to build hostel facilities, enhancing campus infrastructure to help with the growing student population.
In order to ensure that students received appropriate instruction, he urged the Ghana Education Service to assign teachers to communities where they can speak the native dialect.
Since the current system does not allow newly trained teachers to select their chosen regions and districts, the method in which they sought sponsorship from the District Education Offices of their choosing must be reinstated to address the language barrier issue.
He pleaded with teacher unions and college administrations to establish a method for identifying and funding the education of outstanding but underprivileged teacher candidates.
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