Selection of teachers in training faulty

The selection of teacher-trainees into Colleges of Education (COEs) in Nigeria is based on a faulty premise evolved by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), a lecturer with the Department of Linguistics, University of Abuja, Abuja, Muhammad Umaru Ndagi has said. He said this while presenting a paper titled: ‘Teacher Education and its Impact […]

The selection of teacher-trainees into Colleges of Education (COEs) in Nigeria is based on a faulty premise evolved by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), a lecturer with the Department of Linguistics, University of Abuja, Abuja, Muhammad Umaru Ndagi has said.

He said this while presenting a paper titled: ‘Teacher Education and its Impact on Teaching-Learning process in Nigerian schools’ at a four-day training of journalists on investigating the Nigerian education sector organised by Daily Trust Foundation in collaboration with MacArthur Foundation, which held in Abuja.

According to him, the cut-off mark for admitting candidates into COEs, has over the years been lower than that of candidates seeking admission into universities; meaning that COEs, which provide the basic training ground for prospective teachers are only good for candidates with lower academic achievements or ability.

“For example, the cut-off marks required by a candidate to qualify for admission into Universities and COEs for the 2017/2018 session are 120 and 110 respectively; representing 30% and 27.5% respectively. Admitting a candidate who scored only 27.5% in an achievement or aptitude test into a teacher training institution is the beginning of the crises associated with poor quality of teaching and learning in Nigerian schools. It is also a major root cause of the challenges faced by teacher education in Nigeria.”

While he described teacher education as policies and procedures designed to equip prospective teachers with the right knowledge and skills, which they require to effectively perform their tasks in the classroom, school and in the community; he noted that the current National Policy on Education (NPE) fails to appreciate the pivotal role of teacher education in the entire business of teaching and learning in formal school settings.

“No education system may rise above the quality of its teachers,” he added.

 

Speaking further, he maintained that the welfare of teachers is a significant determinant of quality teaching-learning; saying, even with the best trained and qualified teachers, no value would be added to the teaching-learning process if their welfare is neglected.

He therefore advised that salaries and entitlements of teachers should be a first line charge deducted from source and paid to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) which will subsequently disburse same to state UBEBs. “Several months of unpaid salaries has made teachers in affected states and schools to abandon their primary duty of teaching for other menial jobs and because government over the years failed to make the teaching profession attractive, majority of serving teachers including the best among the trained and qualified use teaching as a stepping stone to climb to other well-paid jobs; leaving only the poorly trained and unqualified in the field,” he lamented.

Commenting on the worth of teachers, he lamented that government, parents and the larger Nigerian society do not value the worth of teachers, saying, teachers in the country are the lowest paid public servants and are also regularly paid late; if at all they are paid.