44% of primary school teachers unqualified —FG

THE Federal Government has revealed that about 44 per cent of teachers engaged to teach in primary schools in Nigeria do not possess the requisite qualification to teach.

Mallam Adamu Adamu, the Minister of Education, who made this known in Abuja, said this has greatly affected the learning outcomes at that level of education.

He, however, disclosed that professionalisation of teaching was one of the key issues in the ministerial strategic plan for the development of education already presented to stakeholders for their inputs.

Adamu also said the quality of teachers produced by teacher education institutions and their classroom performance was generally unsatisfactory.

He said these conclusions were based on empirical evidence on teachers’ classroom performance and pupils’ learning outcomes.

Adamu said: “In terms of teacher quality, up to 44 per cent of primary school teachers in Nigeria are unqualified; that is, they do not possess the prescribed minimum teaching qualification, the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE), for teaching at the primary level.

“Pupils’ learning outcomes in Nigeria’s public schools are generally unsatisfactory, and it’s a matter of serious concern to government, employers and all teachers, parents and indeed all stakeholders.”

The new registrar and chief executive of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Professor Yomi Ajiboye, recently expressed similar concerns when he disclosed that from January 2017, the council would reintroduce the professional qualifying examinations for all teachers both at the basic and tertiary levels of education in the country.

Ajiboye noted that modules for the professional qualifying examination have been developed and test-run on sample groups to ascertain the validity and authenticity of the test constructs.

He vowed that the Council, under his watch, would eradicate quackery in the teaching profession, saying that teaching must not been seen as an all-comers affair.

The minister, however, said that the federal government through the Ministry of Education would ensure that the ongoing reforms of pre-service training are vigorously pursued and adequate monitoring mechanism put in place to ensure full compliance by all colleges of education and NCE-awarding institutions in the country.