Teaching is often described as the foundation of national development because teachers shape the knowledge, values, and future of society. In Ghana, however, graduate teachers face a paradoxical crisis. The Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE), introduced in 2018 by the National Teaching Council (NTC), was designed to standardize teacher quality and align the profession with global best practices (Owusu & Kwakye, 2021). Yet, despite its stated objectives, the exam has increasingly become controversial. A large majority of graduate teachers have passed the Ghana Teacher Licensure Exam (GTLE), but remain unemployed as the Ghana Education Service (GES) rarely opens its recruitment portal. Meanwhile, schools across the country continually declare vacancies. The persistent conduct of licensure exams under these conditions has led to growing perceptions that the process serves as a revenue-generating tool rather than a genuine quality assurance mechanism.
Passing the Exam Without Employment
Data from the National Teaching Council shows that pass rates for the licensure exam are relatively high, averaging 68% since its inception in 2018 (The Ghana Report, 2023). For instance, in 2019, nearly 78.2% of the 34,724 candidates passed (Citi Newsroom, 2020). Even in 2023, when the exam was considered more rigorous, more than half (52.6%) of the 20,181 candidates passed (Citi Newsroom, 2023). These statistics indicate that the majority of candidates meet the required standard. The issue, therefore, is not one of incompetence but rather of systemic failure to translate certification into employment.
GES Recruitment Bottlenecks Amid Vacancies
Despite high pass rates, the Ghana Education Service (GES) seldom opens its recruitment portal. Some years see no intake at all, leaving thousands of licensed teachers idle at home (Ghana Statistical Service [GSS], 2023). This is especially paradoxical because schools across the country, particularly in rural and deprived communities, in regular occassions declare teacher shortages. The contradiction highlights bureaucratic inefficiency: while qualified teachers remain unemployed, children in underserved areas and majority of schools continue to lack adequate instructional staff.
Corruption in Ghana Education Service (GES) Recruitment
Corruption scandals have further eroded trust in the GES recruitment process. In 2016, two officials were arrested for charging illicit fees ranging from GH₵40 to GH₵2,000 to recruit teachers (Graphic Online, 2016). Recently, a technician named Ibrahim Kofi Sessah was accused of collecting around GH₵580,000 from over 100 applicants in exchange for appointment letters (Dennislaw News, 2025; MyJoyOnline, 2025). Additionally, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) uncovered widespread schemes involving ghost schools, ghost teachers, fake appointments, and unearned salaries by uncovering GH₵2.85 million in payroll corruption in the Northern Region and overall savings of GH₵34 million in 2024 by blocking such fraudulent payments (MyJoyOnline, 2025). Six officials were convicted in related cases in 2025 with GHS 106,000 recovered for the state (GBC Ghana Online, 2025).
Licensure Exam as a Revenue Stream
The continuous organization of the Ghana Teacher Licensure Exam (GTLE), despite the backlog of unemployed but qualified teachers, has fueled skepticism about its true purpose. Candidates are required to pay registration fees each time they sit for the exam, and those who fail must pay again for retakes. For example, the NTC officially set the pass mark at 52%, yet fees remain unchanged even as cohorts continue to sit year after year (Coleman Publications, 2023). This cycle has led many stakeholders to argue that the Ghana Teacher Licensure Exam (GTLE) has become more of a financial enterprise than an educational reform (Antwi, 2019). The fact that employment opportunities are not linked to successful completion of the exam reinforces the perception that the policy is driven by revenue generation rather than national interest.
Wasted Human Capital and Emotional Toll
Leaving thousands of trained and licensed teachers at home while schools report vacancies constitute a significant waste of human capital. The state invests heavily in teacher training at universities and colleges of education, yet fails to deploy these graduates effectively. For unemployed graduates, the situation leads to financial hardship, dependency, and psychological strain, including anxiety, depression, and loss of professional identity (Nyarko, 2022). In effect, the Ghana Teacher Licensure Exam (GTLE) has compounded, rather than alleviated, the unemployment crisis.
Policy Recommendations
To address the plight of unemployed graduate teachers, the following policy reforms are necessary:
1. Employment Priority: GES and NTC should prioritize absorbing already licensed graduates into the teaching service before conducting further licensure exams.
2. Regularized Recruitment: Recruitment should be systematic, transparent, and aligned with declared vacancies.
3. Anti-Corruption Measures: All recruitment procedures must include oversight, audits, and whistleblower protections.
4. Ghana Teacher Licensure Exam (GTLE) Fee Reforms: Exam fees ought to be reduced and managed transparently to remove profiteering perceptions.
5. Temporary Exam Moratorium: Suspending new Ghana Teacher Licensure Exam (GTLE) sessions until unemployment backlogs are cleared may be warranted.
Conclusion
The Ghana Teacher Licensure Exam (GTLE) was meant to enhance teacher quality, but in practice, it has become emblematic of systemic misalignment in Ghana’s teacher workforce strategy. Graduates pass the exam only to be blocked from employment by Ghana Education Service (GES) recruitment bottlenecks and corruption. As the exam continues to be administered, the perception that it’s a revenue driver grows. Only a reshaped system, that is one that ties licensing directly to transparent, merit-based recruitment and rid of corrupt practices—will restore faith and effectively utilize Ghana’s teacher potential else Ghana risks wasting valuable human capital and eroding the morale of future educators.
References
Antwi, J. (2019). Teacher licensure examination in Ghana: Policy, practice, and implications. Accra: Institute for Educational Studies.
Citi Newsroom. (2020, January 7). 2019 teacher licensure exam records almost 80% pass rate. Retrieved from https://citinewsroom.com/2020/01/2019-teacher-licensure-exam-records-almost-80-pass-rate
Citi Newsroom. (2023, December 19). Over 9,000 teachers fail 2023 licensure exams. Retrieved from https://citinewsroom.com/2023/12/over-9000-teachers-fail-2023-licensure-exams
Coleman Publications. (2023, September 1). NTC confirms pass mark for teacher licensure exams. Retrieved from https://colemanpublication.com/education/ntc-confirms-pass-mark-for-teacher-licensure-exams
Dennislaw News. (2025, May 7). Technician accused in GES recruitment scam granted GHS 6.5 million bail.
Ghana Statistical Service. (2023). Quarterly labour force report. Accra: GSS.
GBC Ghana Online. (2025, May 15). Six convicted in GES payroll scandal; OSP recovers GHS 106k.
Graphic Online. (2016, June 6). Two GES officials busted for illegally recruiting 100 teachers.
MyJoyOnline. (2025, June 2). OSP uncovers widespread GES corruption involving fake schools and appointments.
MyJoyOnline. (2025, May 6). Suspect granted bail for allegedly selling GES teacher recruitment forms totaling GHS 580,000.
Nyarko, K. (2022). Graduate unemployment and psychological wellbeing in Ghana: The case of licensed teachers. Journal of Social Policy and Society, 19(2), 145–160.
Owusu, A., & Kwakye, I. (2021). Teacher licensure examinations and quality assurance in Ghana’s education sector. African Education Review, 18(3), 67–82.
The Ghana Report. (2023, August 29). Pass rate for licensure exams stays steady at 68% – NTC Registrar. Retrieved from https://www.theghanareport.com/pass-rate-for-licensure-exams-stays-steady-at-68-ntc-registrar
