Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, on Thursday, expressed worry over the poor quality of teachers in schools, which he said, was responsible for poor quality of graduates being churned out annually.
He said the Federal Government has taken stronger measures to ensure improvement of the situation and also enrich the content of academic programmes in schools.
The Minister who spoke at a retreat for some educational stakeholders in Abuja, stated emphatically that the main problem of Nigeria’s poor education indices was the poor quality of teachers in classrooms, particularly at the basic and secondary education levels.
He said the poor quality of education in Nigeria is exposing citizens to fake certificates, with an appeal on the participants to develop superior solutions to education challenges in Nigeria.
He said that Federal Government has taken steps by ensuring that teachers in basic and secondary education systems are registered and certified by Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).
He said: “December 2019 deadline for teachers to get certified by TRCN is sacrosanct. From January, 2020, we would begin eviction of unregistered teachers from our classrooms.”
The Minister further advocated for an increased interest in technical and vocational studies, expressing hopes that such would reverse the unemployment figure in Nigeria.
Similarly, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, advocated increased educational opportunities for female children, describing it as a solution to mass illiteracy.
According to him, “If a woman is educated, the chances of her children being educated is high, due to her level of knowledge and exposure.”
He confirmed that technical studies is the only solution to unemployment and Nigerians need to embrace it.