DAILY GRAPHIC, Tuesday, January 31, 2012, Pg.20. Education Ministry gets 3 new advisory bodies



The members of the NIB with Mr Enoch Teye Mensah (6th left), the acting Minister of Education, Mr Mahama Ayariga (7th left), the Deputy Minister of Education and Prof. Esi Sutherland-Addy (right), Chairperson for the NIB.



Mr Enoch Teye Mensah (6th left),  the Acting Minister of Education and Mr Mahama Ayariga (fifth right), Deputy Minister of Education with members of the NTC 



The members of the NCCA with Mr Enoch Teye Mensah and Mr Mahama Ayariga after the inuaguration of the three bodies


Story & Pictures: Mary Ankrah


THREE new advisory bodies have been inaugurated to assist the Ministry of Education to ensure that the right conditions and environment exist for the effective delivery of education in the country.

They are the National Inspectorate Board (NIB),  which is made up of 12 members; the National Teaching Council (NTC), which comprises 12 members and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) which has a membership of 21.

These bodies have representatives fromm universities, religious organisations, the Ghana Employers Association (GEA), as well as stakeholders with proven understanding and passion for quality education delivery, and collectively have the responsibility of helping to improve on the academic performance of schools at the pre-tertiary level and raise the learning achievements of learners.

The NIB is responsible for undertaking inspection of schools and evaluation, on a periodic basis, of first and second cycle institutions and also setting and enforcing standards to be observed at the basic and second cycle levels in both public and private educational institutions.

The NTC will advise the Minister of Education on matters relating to professional standing and status of teachers, and teacher education, including the provision of facilities for in-service training and employment of teachers.

It will register  teachers after they have satisfied the appropriate conditions for initial licensing and issue the appropriate license and revoke a teacher’s license to teach after establishing a case of gross professional misconduct and periodically review professional practice and ethical standards for teachers and teaching.

The NCCA is expected to determine the goals, aims and structures of courses at the various levels of pre-tertiary education and recommend new subjects that would be necessary for the educational system.
The Head of the Language, Literature and Drama Section of the University of Ghana, Professor Esi Sutherland-Addy, is the Chairperson for the NIB, while  Alhaji Rahimu Gbadomosi, a retired Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), is the Chairman of the NTC. The former Vice- Chancellor of the  University of Education, Winneba,  Professor Jophus Anamuah Mensah, is the Chairman for the NCCA.

Inaugurating the bodies, the acting Minister of Education, Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, said the delivery of education was one of the concerns of government and that the government would continue to provide the necessary resources for the education sector and motivate and reward the nation’s hardworking teachers appropriately.

“It is for this reason that the government has devoted considerable resources to the sector for the provision of adequate physical infrastructure as well as appropriate academic facilities that promote quality teaching and learning,” he stated.

 Mr Mensah was confident that with the inauguration of the three new bodies, he had no doubt that education delivery in the country had entered a new phase of progress and excellence.

Present at the inauguration was the Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Mahama Ayariga, among other personalities from various educational institutions and related organisations.