The recent report by the new National Personnel Audit that Nigeria has a shortage of about 227,537 teachers at the basic level of education is not good for the nation’s education sector. It is also disturbing that the report came when the Federal Government disclosed that it had disbursed over N153 billion to state governments in the last couple of years for the implementation of the Universal Basic Education (UBE).
The report, which was made known in Abuja recently during the presentation of the 2018 National Personnel Audit conducted by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) on public and private basic education in Nigeria, showed that there was a shortage of 135, 319 teachers at the pre-primary school level, 139, 772 at the primary level and 2, 146 at the Junior Secondary School level across the country. The report also put the number of children of primary school age who are not in school at 10, 193, 918. This figure, according to the report, represents 25 per cent of the total country enrolment at that level.
According to the report, there are 27.8 million children in primary schools of which 22, 384, 755 are in public primary schools and 5, 504, 632 are in private schools. The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who was on the occasion, stated that from 2015 when this administration came in till date, over N175 billion had been given to UBEC as grant.
We decry the shortage of teachers at the basic level of the nation’s education system and urge the concerned authorities to urgently address the situation. On paper, education has been declared free and compulsory in the last 20 years at the basic level but in practice it has not been fully realised across the country. It is worth pointing out that the shortfall may not be in personnel alone. It covers physical infrastructure and other things the schools might lack at the basic level of education. As the graphic representations of data from all geo-political zones of the country showed, no part of the country is adequately covered in terms of the needed infrastructure to make education in the first nine years a delightful experience for all the school children.
It is sad that despite the N153billion released in the last four years to the states for the implementation of Universal Basic Education (UBEC) funds, the state of the nation’s basic education system is still not encouraging. It is not good that many of the states have failed to bring their counterpart funding to access UBEC funds to develop basic education. It is our view that the states should take the lead in the development of basic education. The Federal Government and development partners should only assist them when necessary. Unfortunately, successive governments have not made adequate investments in education, especially at the basic level. It is commendable that the government has released N34billion for teacher improvement and re-training programmes and another N8billion for the education of children with special needs. However, we urge the government to invest more money in education, especially at the basic level.
Our leaders must muster the political will to adequately fund the nation’s education sector to stem the growing education tourism. Therefore, all tiers of government must increase their annual budgetary allocation to the education sector forthwith. We enjoin the government to prioritise teacher education, especially the training of pre-primary, primary and junior secondary school teachers. There is also need for retraining programme of teachers at the basic level of education across the country.
For the government to adequately address the teacher shortage in the country, it will offer intending teachers scholarships to study education at the colleges of education, polytechnics and universities. Besides, it must professionalise teaching and make it attractive to young and brilliant graduates. Teaching should never be a job of last resort when everything else has failed.