'Flush Out' Unqualified Teachers From Our Educational System'

Nigeria has too many unqualified teachers that need to be flushed out of the system if education is to be repositioned in the country, says a university don

Professor Abiola Awosika, Rector of Olawoyin Awosika School of Innovative Studies declared that Nigeria's many problems require a complete overhaul of the system.

Awosika who was speaking on a Channels TV programme, Sunrise argued that one of the main problems facing the Nigerian system is presence of unqualified teachers in her academic institutions.

She decried a situation where only those who cannot secure employment elsewhere turn to education as a last resort.

“It shouldn’t be that way because people teaching our students should be excellent, stellar individuals but we are putting our dregs where we need to put the top ones," she said.

The don opined that teaching should be made attractive for the best brains to take up the profession, citing the case of Finland which pays its teachers well.

Awosika called for a clean up of unqualified teachers from the system as the first step to realigning the education sector.

We [should] flush out the ones that are not supposed to be in our educational system.

"Any teacher that is not qualified to be there should not be there,” Awosika said.

She also faulted the lowering the Joint Administration and Matriculation Board (JAMB) cut-off score from 180 to 150, arguing that it only watered down the system.

"We lowered the JAMB scores again this year; 180 for universities and 130 for colleges of education and polytechnics"

"We should not water down the system."

The professor also commended the appointment of Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, former governor of Kano State as the new Minister of Education.

It will be recalled that the Vice Chancellor of The Bells University of Technology, Professor Isaac Adebayo Adeyemi, said that the Nigerian university system lacks quality lecturers.