Government has reinstated the quota system for the 46 approved public colleges of education.

The quota system is a system of admission that restricts the number of qualified candidates to be admitted into an institution, particularly the teacher training and nursing colleges in the country.

It was scrapped during the 2013-14 academic year by the erstwhile Mahama administration in order to encourage enrolment in the various schools of education and lessen the financial burden on the government. It was replaced with the Student Loan Trust Fund.

Years down the line, the system has been reintroduced by the Akufo-Addo-led administration.

In a list released by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), a total of 12,002 prospective teacher trainees are expected to be admitted into the 46 colleges of education for the 2022/2023 academic year.

Also, a letter to the National Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education (PRINCOF), from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission outlined the list of colleges of education with their respective admission quotas for the academic year under review, including the Accra College of Education, the Ada College of Education, etc. with total permissible admissions of 295 and 250, respectively.

The abolishment and reintroduction of the quota system has been a bone of contention between the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for quite a while.

While one party believes the abolishment of the service is the best for the country’s educational system, the other thinks otherwise.

Prior to its abolishment, admission to the colleges was restricted by a quota system, with the colleges admitting only 40 percent of their capacity, in view of the financial considerations.

But in December 2016, then Deputy Minister of Education, Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, explained that the abolition of the teacher trainee allowances had increased enrolment in the colleges of education by 63.8%.

He contended that the system was a hindrance to many prospective applicants who otherwise would have gained admission into teacher training colleges.

This, he said, resulted in a teacher deficit in the classrooms.

He added that with the scrapping of the allowances and the quota system, enrolment into the colleges of education increased from 27,000 to 47,000 in the various colleges.

The NPP on the other hand indicated that the country was still in need of more teachers and nurses and thus pledged to re-introduce the allowances, since they served as motivation for many to attend nursing colleges and colleges of education.

Source: The Independent Ghana