Don't open private colleges without approval

The Ghana Education Service (GES) on Thursday warned against the opening of teacher training colleges without approval saying students in such colleges would not be allowed to register for any examination conducted by the University of Cape Coast on behalf of the Ministry of Education and GES.

A statement issued in Accra said of late some individuals, communities and organisations had established private teacher training colleges. "While the Ministry of Education/Ghana Education Service encourages private participation in education it is important to draw attention to guidelines that need to be followed before private Teacher Training Colleges are opened," the statement said.

It said the Ministry, in consultation with the GES Council, had produced a document, which spells out how to register such schools. Titled: "Private Teacher Training Colleges Regulations 2000", it states that no person shall establish a private Teacher Training College without the prior approval of the Minister of Education.

It states that the Minister of Education shall grant approval for the establishment of a private Teacher Training College in consultation with or upon the advice of the Ghana Education Service Council after the private teacher training college has been through the accreditation process.

The document states that the process of accreditation includes application to the National Accreditation Board (NAB) with copies to the GES Council and the Director-General of the GES, inspection for verification of physical facilities and resources and examination programmes offered by the institution.

The others are report and recommendation to the Minister of Education and approval and authority to advertise for admission of students and commencement of instruction. "The Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service wish to remind the general public that private teacher training colleges which have not gone through the process outlined above are not recognised," the statement said.