80 percent of teachers in Nasarawa not qualified – Al-Makura

Governor Tanko Al-makura on Monday alleged that at least eighty per cent of teachers in Nasarawa State are not qualified and would fail an aptitude test if it was administered on them.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a conference to review the minimum standards of the National Certificate of Education (NCE), held at Akwanga, Al-makura informed that government had carried out some research and revealed that most primary and secondary school teachers should not be in the classes.

The Governor, who was represented by the state Commissioner for Education, Aliyu Tijjani Ahmed however allayed fears that government would not conduct a test on the teachers.

He said, “we are not planning a test for the teachers; we only intend to train and retrain them so as to build their capacities for better service delivery”.

He further tasked the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), and other stakeholders to step-up supervision in order to save the sector from total collapse.

The governor urged the reviewers to pay special attention to technical education and entrepreneurship to make NCE graduates more attractive to employers of labour.

Prof. Bappah Aliyu, Executive Secretary of NCCE, while addressing the assembly, explained that the conference would review the current curriculum and inject new ideas so as to boost the quality of the graduates.

He said that such review was last carried out in 2012, urging stakeholders to offer suggestions that would shore up the quality of Colleges of Education to enable them produce qualified teachers.

Earlier in her remarks, Mrs. Rebecca Umaru, Provost, College of Education, Akwanga, commended the NCCE for selecting the institution to host the conference.

She, also expressed optimism that the outcome of the conference would keep lecturers and the management of the respective colleges on their toes in the efforts to produce teachers that would be assets to the society.