Deregistered teachers have low GPA, official says

MANY elementary and primary school teachers have been deregistered from the teaching service because they have low grade point averages (GPAs), says an official.
Education secretary Dr Uke Kombra said after the department learned that there were students entering teachers’ colleges with low GPAs, it sent out circulars in 2014 and 2016 highlighting the centralisation of selection for non-school levers.
“This was done after the department came to understand that there were abuses of the process involving non-school levers entering colleges throughout the country,” he said.
“Most of those students who were enrolled then were with very low GPAs.”
Kombra said in 2017, the GPA for students to enter colleges was set at 1.8, in 2018 it was increased to 2.2 and then to 2.4 in 2019 where it remains to date.
“The ones who have come through the centralised selection process have been screened and have met the requirements of the minimum GPA,” he said.
“They have graduated and have been issued certificates.”
Kombra said the ones that the Education Department had issues with were the ones who had enrolled outside of the centralised selection process.