Meeting teachers’ legitimate needs
Although the strike was suspended soon after it began as a result of the intervention of the FCT Minister, Alhaji Bala Mohammed, it is symptomatic of the long and deep-seated resentment and frustration that many teachers harbour, particularly at the basic level of the country’s education system. Teachers in Benue state also recently took to […]
Although the strike was suspended soon after it began as a result of the intervention of the FCT Minister, Alhaji Bala Mohammed, it is symptomatic of the long and deep-seated resentment and frustration that many teachers harbour, particularly at the basic level of the country’s education system.
Teachers in Benue state also recently took to the streets of Makurdi in protest at the state government’s alleged non-implementation of the national minimum wage. The Special Adviser to the Benue state governor on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Solomon Wombo, refuting the teachers’ claim, argued that the government did ‘not owe teachers a dime’. Teachers in Cross Rivers State have also had their share of the frustrations. They expressed outrage when Governor Liyel Imoke said that the 27.5% increase for teachers agreed upon a decade ago was outrageous and could not be paid. The initial request for Teachers Salary Structure (TSS) which started in 1992 was only approved by the federal government in 2003. However, the TSS which translates in to 27.5% increase in the salary of teachers has remained an issue over which many any states have been dragging their feet.
Concomitant to these half-hearted gestures to teachers’ plight has been the poor learning outcomes as revealed in high failure rates in examinations and instability of the academic calendars. In the past, when it was a pride to be a teacher, the commercially dubious “extra-lesson” phenomenon was unknown at the basic level of education, because teachers were seen to be committed to their duties. Wages were reasonable, and the symbolic recognition accorded them by government and the society was priceless.
It is regrettable however that the government, whether at the federal, state or council level, has backslidden in this commitment, despite the fact the basic level of education is critical to the success of others. The neglect or inability of all stakeholders to separately and collectively give basic education the attention it deserves is a sure pathway to ruining the entire education system. Teachers’ welfare is not just central to achieving the philosophy as well as broad objectives of education as outlined in the country’s National Policy on Education; but it also remains the only practical way of retaining qualified teachers on the job. Most of those who possess teaching qualification use teaching as steppingstone to other jobs where they would get better pay.
In order to properly address the crisis at the basic level of education, there is need to re-examine the existing structure of Teacher Education programme in the country. The scrapping of teacher training colleges has evidently compounded the challenges in the sector. The training of NCE holders is not compatible with what is expected of them at primary schools, where NCE is the least qualification for teaching. While teachers’ colleges prepare their graduates to teach nearly all subjects at the primary school level, the NCE programme prepares teachers in only two subject areas, meaning that the policy requires more teachers at the primary level at a time when there are not enough NCE holders to even go round existing secondary schools.
To address these shortcomings, state governments should access the UBE counterpart funds which the Central Bank of Nigeria has repeatedly announced had been lying idle in its coffers and empower the local councils to meet their commitments. The inspectorate division education departments should be revamped by the various state ministries of education to ensure quality assurance and policy compliance in the teaching and learning process.