Future of PDA Uncertain After MoE Directive to Abolish Teacher Licensure Exams
The recent directive from the Ministry of Education (MoE) instructing the National Teaching Council (NTC) to abolish the Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE) has sparked widespread speculation and concern over the future of the Professional Development Allowance (PDA) paid to teachers annually.
The PDA, introduced in 2020, was designed to support continuous professional development (CPD) activities for in-service teachers, in line with teacher professionalism and licensing requirements under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023). Each year, teachers in the Ghana Education Service (GES) receive this allowance to fund their CPD points accumulation, portfolio building, and other training-related costs tied to license renewal.
However, the MoE’s directive to scrap the licensure examination, effective from 2025, has raised questions about the continuity and justification of the PDA. Some education stakeholders fear that removing the licensure exams could weaken the legal and policy framework that currently mandates CPD compliance, potentially affecting the rationale behind the allowance.
Although the directive only targets the examination component of the licensing process, the NTC has yet to officially clarify how the new policy will affect CPD requirements and license renewals. Teacher unions, including GNAT and NAGRAT, are closely monitoring developments, with some calling for immediate engagement with the MoE to ensure that teachers’ benefits and professional incentives, including the PDA, are not compromised.
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In a recent interview, a representative of one of the unions stated, “We welcome any reform that makes the system fairer and more efficient, but the Professional Development Allowance must not be sacrificed. It is not a reward—it’s a tool to improve teaching and learning.”
As of now, there is no formal indication from the Ministry of Finance or the Ghana Education Service suggesting that the allowance will be discontinued. Nonetheless, with the licensure exam set to be abolished, the government may need to issue new guidelines or amendments to ensure that professional development among teachers remains structured, accountable, and funded.
Teachers across the country are urged to stay informed and engage with their unions as discussions on the implications of this new directive evolve. The future of the PDA may well depend on how the MoE and NTC redefine teacher professional growth in the absence of the GTLE.
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