Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education, has tasked the National Teaching Council (NTC) to provide practice books to teacher trainees to facilitate high passes in the licensure examination. The Minister urged the Council to align University curriculum with the requirements of the licensure examination and mandate trainee colleges and universities to develop courses for the examination. 'We want to create the opportunity to make the licensure exams painless and make sure that the majority of our teachers will pass the exams for the first time,' he said. Dr Adutwum was speaking at an appreciation ceremony for sponsors of the Ghana Teacher Prize Award organised by the NTC in Accra. The ceremony brought together heads of the NTC, award recipients, sponsors, and heads of the various teacher unions. The Minister encouraged the Council to ensure that teachers got the opportunity to sit for the licensure exams as soon as they finished their teaching practice. 'The NTC must make sure candidates have access t o practice books and create more sample questions for candidates. 'Universities must ensure that they have practice courses for candidates and adopt licensure as part of the curriculum in tertiary institutions,' he said. Dr Adutwum stressed that the Ministry intended to ensure that 70 per cent of the candidates passed the licensure examinations as he expressed concern about the 47 per cent of the candidates who failed the licensure examination in 2023. Dr Christian Addai-Poku, Registrar, NTC, said the 2023 edition was one of the best since the inception of the award in 2018, with the addition of a category for tertiary education tutors. Mr Okyeame Sarfo, Head of Secretariat, Ghana Education Service Occupational Pension Scheme, urged the Council to commence the process of the application for sponsorship on time. Sponsors, including the Ghana Trust Fund, Ghana Commercial Bank, AB Ventures, the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Prudential Bank, and other public and private organisations, were recognised and presented with certificates. Ms Faith Aku Dzakpasu, a teacher at Greater 'D' Shepherd 2 Basic School in the G Central District, emerged as the 2023 best teacher. Ms Isabela Wusa-Tetteh, a teacher at Sege D/A Primary School in Ada West in Greater Accra, became the first runner-up. Mr Fredous Iddi-Amin, a teacher at Ogbojo Presbyterian Basic School in the Adenta Municipality in Greater Accra, took the second runner-up position. Source: Ghana News Agency