PRIORITISE TRAINING, REWARD SYSTEM TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF TEACHERS -TRCN TO FG

The challenge of quackery in the teaching profession, especially in Basic Schools, have continued to mock the nation’s education sector.

While some experts say lack of political will to sanitise the sector has fuelled the trend, others insist the paucity of qualified teachers in Nigerian institutions of learning remain the driving force.

To remedy the situation, the Head of Regulation, Accreditation and Enforcement, at the Teachers Registration Council, TRCN, Hammed Okunola said Nigeria must prioritise teacher training and reward system if it hopes to improve the education sector.

Okunola who made the assertion at a training workshop organised for the Association of Education Correspondents in Nigeria, on Thursday, in Abuja insisted that well trained and committed teachers are now a luxury in Nigerian Institutions of learning.

He noted that brilliant individuals refuse to study education courses at universities, which is a prerequisite of training in the profession, because the sector is poorly remunerated, lamenting that there are now accidental teachers in the country, without dedication or love for the profession because they are forced into teaching as a result of unemployment.

Teaching on the theme, “Strengthening Teacher Education: Challenges and Opportunities in Basic Education Sub-sector in Nigeria.,” Okunola said until the dignity and rewards attached to the teaching profession in Nigeria is scaled up, quackery will continue to thrive.

He identified innovations in policies, professional certification, up-scaling the rewards and recognition levels of the teaching profession as some of the steps needed to be prioritised in sanitising the teaching profession.

Noting that no nation can rise above the quality of its teachers, Okunola said standards are now being introduced into classrooms through the deployment of only certified teachers who have been tested and licensed by the regulatory body.

He said teachers are now mandated to go through Digital Literacy Training, DLT, regular Mandatory Continuous Professional Development (MCPD) and Professional Qualifying Examinations, PQE.

However, to ensure that quackery is eliminated from the teaching profession and the sector made attractive to young, brilliant individuals, the TRCN insists Nigeria must upscale its value for education