TEACHER EDUCATION, A STRATEGY FOR IMPROVING TEACHERS OUTPUT IN NIGERIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

Abstract

The quality of teachers in Nigerian education sector has been a source of concern to stakeholders in recent time given that every nation strives towards the provision of quality education for its citizens in realization that education is an essential means to consolidate the nation’s developmental progression. The importance of teachers to the socio-economic development of any nation cannot be overemphasized given that teachers are the most important factor in quality education and responsible for the transformation and execution of educational policies and curriculum in line with the expectations of the society. Even though various teacher education courses are offered by different institutions with varying degree of achievement recorded, various problems still confront the programme with far reaching consequences on education system which have invariably affected the quality of products churned out of the education system in Nigeria. This paper examines the influence and relevance of quality teacher education on teacher’s efficiency in Nigeria. Some challenges affecting teacher education like inadequate funding, poor policy implementation and lack of motivation were identified. In view of the fact that achieving quality education will be an illusion if teacher education is not in good shape, some solutions to the identified constraints like allocation of adequate funds for the education sector, review of teacher education curriculum, appointment of seasoned educationist as heads of education institutions in the country and regular training and re-training of teachers are also adduced for remediation.

Usman, Y. D. | Federal Road Safety CORPS (FRSC), Nassarawa Eggon, Nasarawa State, Nigeria