The Executive Secretary, National Commission of Colleges of Education, Prof. Monday Joshua, has suggested advocacy and enlightenment programmes to end the challenge posed by the shortage of teachers at the basic education level.
Joshua, who traced the problem to ignorance about the teaching profession, decried a situation whereby parents are not enthusiastic about their children gaining admission to colleges of education.
The NCCE boss spoke on the sidelines of the 10th convocation of the Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State.
“The shortage of teachers can only be solved by advocacy because we have an ignorant society. That is why you will see parents allow the child to stay in the house for four years because he or she has not gained admission into the university.
“May be in the fifth year, they will now reluctantly enroll such a child into a college of education. If we don’t tackle this problem at the basic education level, the foundation of universities will be shaky. So, there has to be a way of addressing the problem and producing teachers,” he said.
Joshua also asked stakeholders to come together to burnish the image of teachers in the eye of the public.
“It is an issue that cannot be solved in one day and all stakeholders in education must address it. The bottom line lies in the kind of regard and image that the society gives to the teaching profession.
“We must correct the image that has been given to the teaching profession over time and you will see that people will be excited to join the profession. But it is not a one-man affair; it requires stakeholders in the education sector, including parents, to disabuse people’s minds,” he added.
He condemned the upgrading of colleges of education to university status, saying it would amount to a change of mandate.
“Every institution has its own place and one is not more important than the other. For government to upgrade colleges of education to university status will amount to changing the focus and mandate from producing teachers for the basic education level to producing teachers for the upper secondary school education level,” he warned.
Joshua, who traced the problem to ignorance about the teaching profession, decried a situation whereby parents are not enthusiastic about their children gaining admission to colleges of education.
The NCCE boss spoke on the sidelines of the 10th convocation of the Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State.
“The shortage of teachers can only be solved by advocacy because we have an ignorant society. That is why you will see parents allow the child to stay in the house for four years because he or she has not gained admission into the university.
“May be in the fifth year, they will now reluctantly enroll such a child into a college of education. If we don’t tackle this problem at the basic education level, the foundation of universities will be shaky. So, there has to be a way of addressing the problem and producing teachers,” he said.
Joshua also asked stakeholders to come together to burnish the image of teachers in the eye of the public.
“It is an issue that cannot be solved in one day and all stakeholders in education must address it. The bottom line lies in the kind of regard and image that the society gives to the teaching profession.
“We must correct the image that has been given to the teaching profession over time and you will see that people will be excited to join the profession. But it is not a one-man affair; it requires stakeholders in the education sector, including parents, to disabuse people’s minds,” he added.
He condemned the upgrading of colleges of education to university status, saying it would amount to a change of mandate.
“Every institution has its own place and one is not more important than the other. For government to upgrade colleges of education to university status will amount to changing the focus and mandate from producing teachers for the basic education level to producing teachers for the upper secondary school education level,” he warned.
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