[ 2016-05-24 ]

GES fleecing teacher applicants
The Ghana Education Service (GES) is using dubious
and exploitative means to extort money from
graduates who want to gain employment and
contribute their quota to national development as
teachers, Dr Prince Armah, Executive Director of
VIAM Africa, has said.

The head of the education and social policy think
tank argues that “leaders do not care about the
welfare of unemployed graduates” and wonders why
energetic young people who are now looking for
jobs will be asked to pay GHS62 to sit for an
aptitude test before given teaching jobs.

The test was conducted on Saturday May 24 for
over 4,000 applicants. Some of the applicants have
indicated that the test comprised West African
Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE)
questions. The question papers were, however,
taken back from them after the test, according to
reports.

Dr Armah said the explanation given by the GES
that the money was fees for the West African
Examination Council (WAEC) for the cost of the
examination is “absolutely ridiculous and only a
means for the GES to make money by squeezing the
little from the unemployed graduates”.

He told Prince Minkah on Class91.3FM's Executive
Breakfast Show that the action of GES “has no
theoretical and empirical basis” because there
is “huge evidence that a teacher’s knowledge
does not translate to him being an effective
teacher”.

“The guy has done a degree programme in
mathematics and you are measuring his ability to
teach with WASSCE? In education, writing that exam
will not determine teacher effectiveness because
it will not determine whether the person is a good
teacher or not,” Dr Armah added.

“Have you not seen someone who is very
knowledgeable in a field but cannot teach to your
understanding? So, that tells you that there is
something that explains that. Whenever a factor is
not able to explain an issue, then it means that
there are other factors that explain that issue.
So, if there are people who cannot teach
regardless of having knowledge, there are other
factors and we said that those factors include
issues of self-efficacy, understanding of
pedagogical skills and how to teach it. That is
why you go and do psychology of learning and human
development. …So, for me, you cannot tell me
that writing WASSCE is a better predictor of
teacher effectiveness,” he added.

To him, the action of the GES was an impediment
to access to employment in the service and wants
authorities to take action. He has, therefore,
written a petition to the GES, Ministry of
Education, and the Presidency, to draw their
attention to the conduct of the GES and rectify
what he sees as an injustice.

Meanwhile, some of the graduates who participated
in the exams are demanding a refund. One
disgruntled applicant lamented bitterly that he
could not get the money to pay so he could not
write the test.

He narrated: “I also received a message from
the GES to write the exams at Cape Coast. To be
honest, I did not have that kind of money, let
alone the transportation fare from Sekondi to Cape
Coast. I have a Master’s Degree on top of my
education degree in Biology from the University of
Cape Coast and I cannot fathom why I will be made
to pay that amount. Even private institutions do
not collect any amount before recruitment, how
much more a public institution. I did not make it,
but I pray that God helps me to make it [get the
job]. I feed on GHS3 or sometimes GHS5 a day and
even out of this sum, I buy credit to surf the
internet and apply for jobs. My parents have done
enough and I cannot overburden them. I feel very
frustrated because several attempts to find myself
busy by applying for voluntary employment have
never yielded any results,” he bemoaned.

Source - classfmonline.com

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