Snail-paced education reforms affecting nat'l dev't, Stakeholders, others, tell FG

…advises FG to assume responsibility for teachers' training

…calls for immediate curriculum, remuneration review to reflect current realities

By Ezra Ukanwa, Abuja

AS education continues to be one of the focal points for discussion in Nigeria, particularly on how it affects national development, stakeholders have highlighted poor reforms in the industry as part of why the country has not seen remarkable progress in recent times.

Pointedly, they noted that past governments, for a long time, failed to carry out education to keep up with the rapidly evolving industries and technological advancements worldwide.

They added that the outdated curriculum and teaching methods in many educational institutions are not equipping students with the skills and knowledge required by industries.

The stakeholders who spoke to SUNDAY VANGUARD at the sidelines of a symposium, organized by Afrelib, themed: "From the classroom to the world: Redefining teaching for the 21st century", held Saturday, in Abuja.

Bemoaning the poor remuneration of teachers, the co-founder of Afrelib Academy, Joseph Kolawole Ajuwon, made a case for the salaries of teachers to be increased, considering how much emotional and practical effort they invest in sculpting a child's mind.

He said: "There's no way that you can say that it's a noble profession and then say because it's noble, that you do it for free, or for love. Love doesn't put food on the table. We all know that. But it starts with the headship of organizations of schools, and government. If we can understand the value these teachers offer society, offer the children, and we begin to evaluate as such, we should be able to start looking at the remuneration package and the compensation.

"Now, we know that there are lots of different types of schools, there are fee-paying schools and their state schools, so it's not all the time that we can afford a better wage for teachers. But at the same time, there has to be a conversation between the teaching professional, the unions, and the organizations that actually teach the teachers and value their profession to have that conversation with the government, with the school owners and the school headship. There needs to be a correction."

He added that the Federal Government, FG, as a matter of urgency, must take charge of the training of teachers as part of moves to ensure the right teachers are deployed to pass the right education.

"And the government has a fantastic role to play in setting the agenda, in supporting the agenda, in influencing that agenda about teachers' training; the right level of support and qualifications that needs to have been put in place", he said.

On his part, an Educational Administrator, Dr. Emmanuel Aina, while delivering his Keynote address, recommended a review of the curriculum for teachers' education with particular attention to technology.

He also corroborated the need for the current administration to thoroughly review teachers' remuneration to enable teachers to stay afloat amidst the current economic hardship bedeviling the country.

"All of us as stakeholders-bodies teachers, teacher trainers, examination bodies, government, the private sector, parents, guardians, students, donors, and sponsors must make a collective and collaborative effort towards reversing the ominous dangers of which paper qualification portends for education. We commend those who are already heading this desirable direction.

"We urge you that in our effort at salvaging the situation to consider the following: A review of our curriculum for teacher education with special attention to technology and emphasis on teaching for cognitive, affective and psychomotor outcomes. A realistic remuneration package for teachers in order to attract the best to the teaching profession and to enhance their social standing."

Additionally, he said the government must: "Consider a return to the basics by reverting to the Grade 2 teachers programme side by side with SSCE. Elongation of the PGDE programme to give it more coverage of the mechanics of teaching. Registration licensing by the TRCN should be after a more rigorous process that needs to be more active and visible in its oversight functions of monitoring, discipline enforcement and publicity."

Adding her voice, the academy’s head of operations/program, Joyce Gomina, advised the current administration to: "take the teaching profession seriously. It should be taken with all dedication and commitment because every profession is as a result of some form of tutelage. So, you can't become any professional without going through the four walls of a classroom and going through the teachers. So, putting in a very low qualification or low expectation for teachers is, first of all, a gross error.

"I think the qualification and the expectation for teachers should be the highest because for you to be able to create excellence, you should be excellent yourself. So, it's important that the expectation for teachers, the qualification, expectation or requirements, the bar should be high so that teachers who come in will not be discouraged and then maybe decide to go low in their practice or decide to make changes that they're not supposed to make."

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