Teaching In Northern Nigeria

A report from a recent conference of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, raised an alarm at the poor quality of teachers in Northern Nigeria. Much as this could be considered a restatement of what is already out there in the public domain, it should be a source of worry to anyone interested in the development of the nation’s human capital. The report, as indicated, pointed out that 50 percent of teachers in the north are not qualified based on the minimum qualification required which is Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE).

This worrisome assessment is coming as the world just marked a day set aside to celebrate teachers for their contribution to manpower development, in particular, and as the hand that rocks the cradle in general. The concern is that these hands that cultivate and nurture future leaders in all spheres of life must prove themselves worthy of this noble role.

The conference that had in attendance the crème de la crème of Northern society raised even a more disturbing spectacle which is that many individuals are in the teaching profession not because of the love they have for it, but because they lack better opportunities. In other words, the suggestion is that teaching has become a dumbing ground for never do wells. A very sad commentary.

We recall that the administration of Governor Nasir el-Rufa’I in Kaduna state sacked 2,357 teachers after they failed a competency test. The Kaduna state Universal Basic Education Board (KADSUBEB) had, at that time, conducted a competency test for over 30,000 teachers. Most of them could not measure up and were booted out.

It is pertinent to point out that this embarrassing challenge of unqualified teachers in public and, even private schools, is not peculiar to Northern Nigeria. It cuts across the broad spectrum of the nation’s education sector. It is just that it is more pronounced in that part of the nation.

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In our considered opinion, it all boils down to the problem of leadership and lack of the desired governance models and a misplacement of priorities.

Part of the problem is that teaching, as a profession, has been gaining negative influence from politicians who see it as a dumping ground for their cronies and hangers- on. Those they could not accommodate elsewhere after using them during elections are pushed into the classroom. And for political reasons, no questions are asked as to their suitability for the very important job. Even the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) pretends not to know what is going on.

Another pertinent issue has to do with the commitment or lack of it by the governments of the states in the North towards grooming, by way of proper funding, the qualified teachers they require. Without this commitment, it amounts to shedding of crocodile tears when the matter of the paucity of qualified teachers is raised at occasions such as the one that had just ended in Abuja.

As a newspaper, we are more predisposed to being informed by the governments of the Northern states about measures to raise the percentage of qualified teachers.  Lamentations are not what are needed because they will hardly address the situation that is at the heart of any meaningful development.

We are persuaded to argue that without a policy framework to invest in human capital development in the education sector, it will remain motion without movement in that sector that holds the key to the solution to the scourge of crime and criminality. It must also be noted that without qualified teachers, the schools will end up pushing into the job market unemployable school leavers who will be hardly useful to themselves let alone the society.

This, therefore, makes it imperative for all, especially the leaders at all levels, to come up with creative ideas on how to raise the bar to the appropriate levels in the school system. The urgency of the moment cannot be over-emphasised.

The tragedy of the education system in the North began when those who claim to be acolytes of the revered Sir Ahmadu Bello abandoned his legacies of which education is prominent.

In the days of the late Premier, most of these leaders in the North who are today paying lip service to this matter that is of exceptional importance were paid to go to school. Dr Aliyu Babangida made that confession publicly. Unfortunately, in our view, they abandoned the education of children exactly where the legendary Sokoto prince left off.

The way forward, in our assessment, is for the leaders and other stakeholders, not just in the North but also in other parts of the country, to return to the drawing board and begin to design modalities that will enhance the dwindling fortunes of the education sector. This includes deploying adequate resources to training and retraining of teachers.