Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.9, No.36, 2018 75 An Evaluation of the Untrained Teachers Diploma in Basic Education (UTDBE) Programme in Ghana Graham, Alberta Yaa College of Education Studies, University of Cape Coast, Ghana Owusu, Alberta Abena Kunadu Institute of Educational Planning and Administration Abstract Research has shown that a sufficient number of competent teachers are required in order to improve the quality of educational processes in any country. Thus, an education system that aims to offer quality education for all young people should be able to count on teachers who are well trained. The study seeks to evaluate the Untrained Teachers Diploma in Basic Education (UTDBE) programme with respect to the performance of the untrained teachers who went through the programme. The study employs an ex-post-factor design to assess the facts after the implementation of the programme and the basic instrument used for the study was the questionnaire. It was revealed that majority of the untrained teachers who went through the programme had many benefits and that they held a good perception about the programme. One major recommendation of the study was that the Ministry of Education should ensure that teachers who are beneficial of the UTDBE programme are accorded the same recognition as those who went to the Colleges of Education in respect of promotion and upgrade of teachers. Keywords: Ghana; institute of education; ministry of education; ghana education service; untrained teachers diploma in basic education; colleges of education. Introduction The ancient Greek philosopher Plato defined education as ‘the turning of the eye of the soul from darkness unto light’ (Opare, Quist, Anyagre & Frimpong, 2016). To the late former South African President, Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world”. In the same vein, Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations observed that: “Education is a human right with immerse power to transform; on its foundation rests the cornerstone of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development”. This means that education is a conversion or reconstruction of experiences that brings the individual from a state of ignorance and despondency. This reconstruction takes place in an instructional system. According to Koomson, Brown, Anyagre, Ahiatrogah and Dawson-Brew (2013), the instructional system is made up of the teacher, the search image and the learner. Although the components within the system are interrelated, the teacher plays the most important role. Therefore, the quality of teachers is crucial in the success of education. An education system that aims to offer a quality education for all young people should be able to count on teachers who are well trained and adequately paid. The Ministers for Education, when they met together at UNESCO for its 32nd General Conference, also reaffirmed this: “We find indispensable the role of teachers as purveyors of knowledge and values and as community leaders responsible for the future of our young. We should do everything in our power to support them and to learn from them” (UNESCO, 2003). Furthermore, the quality of teachers does not only benefit the pupils but it has national consequences as well. According to UNESCO, increasing the number and quality of teachers is an essential element in the pursuit of achieving Universal Primary Education by 2015 (UNESCO, 2006). The problem of preparing, recruiting and deploying sufficient numbers of teachers to meet the demand in schools is not confined to Ghana. Many other countries are grappling with the problem. In 2004, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) estimated that 18 million new teachers would be needed globally by 2015 and almost 4 million of these would be needed in Africa (UIS 2006). The United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals Report 2013 states that more than half of the world’s out-of-school children live in sub- Saharan Africa (UN, 2013). In 2003, Government of Ghana (GoG) was faced with the problem of having 40 % of teachers in primary schools in Ghana being untrained and that their number and share were likely to rise to 52% by 2010 (UNESCO, 2003). In addition, the successful implementation of Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) programme required the services of a large number of qualified teachers who were well equipped in teaching, particularly, in primary methodology. Though the traditional Colleges of Education (CoEs) produced teachers annually, they were unable to meet the demand of the numerous basic schools in the country. Thus, in September 2003, the Ministry of Education through the Teacher Education Division (TED) of Ghana Education