The current practice whereby cut-off marks for admission into Colleges and Faculties of Education are being lowered is dangerous for the future of education in Nigeria.
The Registrar and Chief Executive, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, TRCN, Prof. Segun Ajiboye, gave the warning.
This is just as he called on the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, to make admission into colleges and faculties of education stricter to ensure the best brains entered the teaching profession.
Ajiboye who made the call on Thursday while delivering the 488th inaugural lecture of the University of Ibadan titled, “Teaching: In the Classroom as a Regulator”, said lowering the cut-off marks for education courses would negatively impact the quality of people who eventually will enter classrooms to teach Nigerian children.
Ajiboye who is a Professor of Social Studies, Civic and Environmental Studies at the University of Ibadan, insisted that cut-off marks for education related courses should rank among the highest.
He said, “Admission into Colleges of education and Faculties of Education in Nigeria should be stricter. The current practice is dangerous for the future of our education. Those who want to teach our children should be the best in our society and not the dregs. The UTME cut-off marks into Colleges of Education and Faculties of Education, if possible, should rank among the highest.
“The hydra-headed crisis of quality and quantity of teachers demands a strong policy response. Rebuilding the system should take into account how the once cherished vocation, the mother of all professions should attract the best brains and retain them.”
Ajiboye maintained that Nigeria needed to urgently review its teacher education policy and programmes in order to produce 21st century teachers, stating that teacher training, welfare and an environment that promoted learning must be pursued and provided for best learning outcomes.
The TRCN boss disclosed that COVID-19 had challenged Nigeria’s education system, adding that it was important that teacher education programme be reviewed to meet modern day challenges of globalisation and post-COVID era.
“We must urgently do a review of our teacher education policy and programme to produce teachers for the 21st century classroom. The rest of the world is not waiting for Nigeria. Professional training is critical, just as mastery of subject matter, teachers’ welfare and an environment that promotes learning.
“It is, therefore, important to stress the fact that the need for a review of our teacher education programme is long overdue. To meet the challenges of globalisation, efforts should be put in place for an immediate review of the curricular, methodology, motivation and resources components of our programme. Teaching today demands a lot more of sophistication than previously, therefore pre-service teachers needs to be adequately equipped to meet the classroom demands. It is, therefore, incumbent upon governments through their respective ministries to ensure that quality education is provided to our youths.
“For quality education to be achieved there must be adequate quality teachers who have gone through quality training, hence the need to re-brand and re-profile the teacher. For this to be realised there is the need to regulate the teaching profession with a view to ensuring the provision of quality teachers for quality teaching and learning,” he said.
