Changes made by GES concerning recruitment & posting of teachers – Check Here!

Some few years back, teacher trainees got permanent posting appointment letters while waiting for the results of their final papers and certificates. During that period, getting admission into teacher training college was treated as getting employment as “Pupil Teacher” in GES.

At that time, you could apply to teach as a Pupil Teacher in the Ghana Education Service with SSCE or WASSCE certificate; teachers at that time, were in high demand.

Trainee teachers received what was then called “Pupil Teacher allowance”, paid directly from Controller and Accountant General’s Department – Same as what is paid to pupil teachers in the classroom.

It was a motivation package to get more people, trained professionally, to fill our empty classrooms. This amount was affected by annual base pay increments, unlike teacher trainees allowance which is fixed.

What happened then was that, so long as you had passed through the forewalls of teacher training college for the designated three years duration, you would be posted.

You would still be receiving the allowance during the first year until you are confirmed and the difference between the allowance and the substantive salary will be paid in bulk which was called “Back Pay.”

Some colleagues took this flexibility of automatic posting for granted, which later became one of the reasons for its revision. Some colleagues who were referred in certain courses, failed to redeem themselves after getting permanent posting.

They became comfortable with the Pupil Teacher Allowance and did not care about going back to write the papers. Some are still in the system like that.

GES and its agencies responsible for setting training standards thought it wise to block this leakage. So, they introduced the policy of online application before posting. They put in the condition that, during the time of recruitment application, you should have passed all your courses and have your certificate.

They later put in more filters; the one-year mandatory National Service, ‘almighty’ Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination and its siblings; Degree recruitment only.

Do you think the Ghana Education Service is being too hard on newly trained teachers from Colleges of Education? Share your thoughts in the comment section?

Published By: Justice Donkoh | GESHub.org