To a great extent, the quality of teachers defines the quality of education in any country. In Nigeria, however, there are some apprehensions that we are not doing quite enough to attract, prepare, and retain the best talents to teach our children.
The most recent such decision, which has drawn widespread attention, is the approval granted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), setting the cut-off mark at 100 out of 400 for admission into Colleges of Education.
Although such a decision is meant to provide access and quota admission, the prospect of the quality of teachers, their professional status, and their effects on the educational future of a nation are deeply problematic.
Teaching is a very competitive and respectable career in most developed education systems. Nations such as Finland and Singapore select only the high-achieving students to enter teacher education pathways, and the standards are demanding and incentives are high. On the other hand, Nigeria seems to be taking the opposite spectrum, as it admits some of the least learned students into a profession which arguably should require the most. With this trend continuing, we will find ourselves in a loop where unqualified teachers teach teachers, who in turn teach other teachers, and so on, until standards are slowly chipped away at.
This article demands a sober thought on what teacher education ought to be in Nigeria. It questions the consequences of low entry qualifications to the teacher training institutions. It offers directions on how teacher education can be reframed as a national priority regarding both Nigeria and Africa in general.
The Low-Entry Bar
When we are accepting even students with 100 score into Colleges of Education, it is a scary message regarding teaching and teacher evaluation. It perpetuates a harmful myth that teaching is secondary, a backdoor into other professions, a second choice made when other avenues of entry into other profession might not have been available. This attitude has, over the years, de-professionalised teaching and has led to its loss of popularity among the brightest young minds in Nigeria.
Admission to the teaching profession with low standards undermines the initial competence of the teachers who will ultimately be in front of the students in class rooms. Education of teachers does not entail passing on of information; it entails producing critical thinkers, emotionally intelligent communicators, and professional pedagogues. In case entrants have poor academic backgrounds, the whole process of teacher preparation becomes uphill, not only to the trainees, but also to the institutions involved with their training.
Moreover, not all the characteristics required to excel in teaching consist of academic competence; still, it is a key necessity. An illiterate or poorly numerate or rational candidate is likely to have problems in performing key professional functions, e.g. lesson planning, assessing learners, and classroom management. Worse, these individuals may lack confidence or clarity in motivating learners and integrating into pedagogies.
Admission into teacher education is competitive and selective in most global contexts, especially in high-performing systems. For instance, Singapore’s teacher selection process mirrors only the upper third of high school graduates. With this, it ensures that the instructional staff comprises competent individuals with exceptional mental and emotional abilities, a paradigm that Nigeria should adopt if we truly value life-changing education.
Ripple Effect: The End Repercussions
There are greater implications than short-term academic implications of inducting underqualified people into Colleges of Education. The implications can be long-lasting, being highly structural in terms of their impact on generations of learners, undermining national development priorities and loss of faith in the system of mass education.
1. Exploitation of the Profession of Teaching: Once a profession has been depreciated, it loses quality personnel. Teaching is no longer seen as a prestigious profession. It poses a significant challenge in attracting motivated, high-performing individuals to the field. The cycle repeats itself as the profession is looked upon by less qualified people, which results in worse results and further depreciation.
2. Reduced Learning Outcomes: A teacher who has not been thoroughly prepped will not give adequate instructions to the learners. Suppose the quality of teachers at entry points is compromised. In that case, the consequences will manifest as poor performance in basic literacy, numeracy, and critical reasoning skills, as evidenced by the poor records of annual assessments conducted by national and international governments.
3. Diminished International Competitiveness: The international educational competition is not lenient. States with low education systems will produce labour forces that struggle to compete in the international environment. Unless the situation involving the deteriorating quality of teachers improves, Nigeria can find itself lagging in innovation, science, and the knowledge economy.
4. Injury to Marginalised Groups: The underserved children usually study in the public school setting and are highly affected by poorly performing teachers. Instead of education as an implication of equity, it becomes a system which maintains poverty and confines social mobility.
One such policy decision can have decade-long ripples. The situation in Nigeria should be reconsidered at the stage where the destruction has not been complete.
The Alternative Methods: The Voice of Reforming
To get better teachers in Nigeria, we need to overhaul our entire teacher preparation system, and the first step is in admissions. Assuming that education is the centre of development, we need to show courage and create strategic policies aimed at empowering the trade.
1. Bump Up Minimum Admission Requirements
Act one is to increase the minimum JAMB cut-off to Colleges of Education to at least 180, with universities and faculties offering teacher education courses having a benchmark of 200. By doing this, although it would initially reduce the number of applicants, the overall integrity of the teacher trainees will be improved, and we will send a message to society that we value teaching.
2. Bring in Teacher Aptitude and Personality Screening
Not every academically qualified person feels qualified to teach. Implementing a screening program to evaluate communication skills, empathy, flexibility, and interest in children would ensure that field representatives are not only competent but also enthusiastic and stable.
3. Empower Curriculum and Practicum
Most Colleges of Education are working on obsolete curricula that are not aligned with the realities of the 21st century. The reforms should embrace matters of integration of digital literacy, inclusive education, classroom management and reflective practice. In addition, the teaching practice must be long-lasting and assessed more critically.
4. Career Pathways and Licensing
Teachers could be encouraged to dedicate themselves to lifelong learning by being offered clear professional pathways, i.e. becoming an expert or school leader after starting as an entry-level teacher. Standards and accountability will also be ensured through the national licensing and re-certification.
5. National Drive to Rebrand Teaching
Government and other stakeholders should initiate rebranding with the population by positioning teaching as a dignified and advantageous career. It may involve giving scholarships to the best candidates and coverage of successful teachers in the media, as well as improved remuneration packages.
Reformation is possible, but not without a purposeful, inclusive, comprehensive, and evidence-based approach.
A Continental Point of View: Why is this important to Africa?
The choices that Nigeria makes towards teacher education have numerous ramifications. Nigeria, with a population of over 100 million people, has one of the largest education systems in Africa. Through the education system, policy direction is being influenced not only in West Africa but the entire continent. Other countries facing similar problems will likely follow Nigeria’s lead in lowering the bar, thereby creating a crisis rather than delivering solutions to the problem.
Quality education is the key to Africa, and this will start with effective teachers. The African Union in the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 2016-2025) notes the great need to enhance the development of teachers and professionalise the teaching profession in the member states. However, it has been progressing gradually in most countries as a result of neglect in terms of investment, policy integrity, and stakeholder integration.
It can become a model or an example of what not to do in Nigeria. Through their willingness to adhere to global best practices and their appreciation of teachers, Nigeria stands a chance of leading the new era of education in Africa. The best that Nigeria can offer to the development of Africa is a powerful, recognised, and well-trained teaching force, provided strategic changes are implemented.
Conclusion: Do it NOW
Each Nigerian child would benefit from having a good and motivating teacher, someone who could unleash the potential inside them, inspire stewardship, and enable scholars who will shape the next generation. This ideal is, however, impossible when the profession is used as a dumping ground for the academically incompetent. We are taking the easy way out by lowering the bar to enter Colleges of Education, and in the process, sacrificing quality at the expense of our future. This problem is not only educational, but a national development problem. The quality of education determines our healthcare, economy, innovation, and governance. Otherwise, we will end up perpetuating a set of mediocrities.
It is high time policymakers, educators, media and civil society call upon better standards. Making teacher education better is not impossible; it just needs to be urgent, collaborative, and courageous.
We should stretch ourselves. It is dependent on our future.
