An Education Expert, Mr Smith Bam has called for an increment in the renumeration/compensation of teachers in other to raise their enrollment in the country
Bam was speaking at a One-Day Capacity Building Workshop for Education Correspondent Association of Nigeria (ECAN) in Abuja on Friday.
The theme of the workshop is tagged: “A Practical Approach to Education:Challenges of Low Students Enrollment in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria”.
This is as he also called for an autonomy in the teaching profession to raise teachers enrollment in the country.
He expressed displeasure over the treatment of teachers who received peanut as monthly renumeration saying that it is a ‘ponzi scheme’ for teachers who received N100,000 and less a month.
“The teaching profession is a pitiable profession. When students don’t find role models in their teachers because of their status, then enrollment will be low.
“We must elevate the compensation of teachers to be at par with that if a doctor and engineer because enrollment is the bye product of a sensitive society.
“If we don’t increase the teachers enrollment and yardsticks for being a teacher, it will aggravate exams malpractices.
“The TRCN is doing greatly to increase the parameters for teachers but this will not yield any result if teachers are not adequate motivated.
“In Finland, you must have master’s degree before you can be allowed to teach. So we must emulate this and this will not be possible if we don’t treat teachers right,” he said.
Bam also noted that teachers who were custodian of knowledge despise reading saying that this narrative must be changed to revive the profession.
In the same vein, the Public Affairs Advisor, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Dr Fabian Benjamin said the could must go back to the old age where teachers were giving their respect and dues.
Benjamin said that in the past teachers were regarded as managers of the society because the profession was booming.
“In 2021, the total admission was 494,000 and out of it only 30,000 were admitted to read education programmes which represented 6.77 per cent of the admission.
“In 2022, out of the 469,000 admissions, 35,466 were admitted into COE representing 7.5 per cent.
“In 2023, out of the 472,200 admissions, 11,735 were admitted into COE representing 2.49 per cent,” he said.
He explained that lack of incentives, lack of professionalism, lack of good condition of service, prescription of minimum qualification for tertiary education among others were problems causing low enrollment in NCE awarding institutions.
He recommended that Colleges of Education (COE) must be renamed advanced teachers college or institute of teaching and teachers education.
Also, the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, commended the journalists for helping to reshape the educational space over the year.
Ajiboye, who was represented by the council’s Head of Media, Mr Anthony Odu, promised to sustain the collaboration for the upward movement of education activities in the country.
“This is the fifth edition of this training and it has been successful over the years.
“All we have done together before now and after now will give us reasons to strengthen us for upward movement of the education activities,”he said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of ECAN, Mr Chuks Ukwuata, said that teaching profession is bedevilled by so many challenges, hence the need for journalists to be acquainted with mandates of the various agencies in the sector to help tackle some of the challenges.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was sponsored by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).(NAN)