Future teachers: Enrolment apathy hits colleges of education

Teaching is an unsung profession in Nigeria. This is because teachers, as professionals who teach children to become what they dream of, are hardly seen, heard, recognised or rewarded. Stakeholders, however, noted that when policies are properly implemented and the government demonstrates the political will, the bastion of education, which are the colleges, will thrive, IYABO LAWAL reports.

Despite complaints over low admission rate, Colleges of Education (CoEs) in the country have failed to meet 10 per cent of their admission quota, The Guardian has learnt.

They are challenged by low enrolment rate of students willing to study education courses.

Data obtained from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) showed that applications into National Certificate of Education (NCE) programmes over the years have been the lowest.

A breakdown of the data showed that from 2019 to 2023, out of the 211,201 applications recorded for admission into CoEs, universities and polytechnics running education programmes, 198,798 were eventually admitted.

A further breakdown showed that in 2019, 34,138 candidates applied for NCE programmes but 71,188 were admitted, indicating that candidates without interest in education were eventually admitted.

In 2020, 80,355 applications were recorded but 49,678 candidates were admitted, meaning about 40 per cent didn’t go through with the process, while in 2021, only 15,746 applications were recorded but 30,731candidates were admitted, showing that candidates without interest in education were eventually admitted.

For 2022, 52,627 candidates applied for the programmes but only 35,466 were admitted, and in 2023, 28,335 applications were recorded, while only 11,735 candidates were eventually admitted.

The admissions summary showed that in 2021 a total of 494,088 admissions were recorded, but only 30,731, representing 6.22 per cent were admitted for NCE.

In 2022, 684,111 were admitted but only 35,466 were for COE, and in 2023, 474,765 admissions were recorded, but only 11,735, representing 2.47 per cent, were for colleges of education.

National Certificate of Education admission by quota showed that in 2021, out of the 454,700 slots earmarked for colleges of education, only 30,731, representing 6.75 per cent were admitted. In 2022, with 469,125 slots, only 35,466 or 7.56 per cent were admitted, while in 2023, out of 472,200 quota, only 11,735, representing 2.49 per cent were admitted, meaning that despite the cry for access to tertiary education, colleges of education have failed to meet their quota in the years under review.

JAMB’s Head of Communication, Dr Fabian Benjamin, said despite complaints of yearly denying qualified candidates’ admission to universities, due to carrying capacity of the institutions, colleges of education have failed to meet their quota in the last three years.

He said the cut off marks for admission into tertiary institutions, especially into colleges of education were low because of the issue of demand, noting that if the marks were pegged high, most of the colleges may be forced to shut down because they would not have students to admit.

Going by the data, he said those found in the teaching profession were in different categories-those who were convinced that teaching was their calling and could best serve their country in that capacity; those who chose teaching and found satisfaction in it; those who couldn’t make good elsewhere, but because they have the minimum academic qualification required to join the teaching profession for necessity, rather than choice; and those who have been to secondary schools but have been disqualified from furthering their studies due to poor academic records or lack of parental ability to continue sponsoring their education.

Why there is low enrolment
Established in the 1960s to address the dearth of qualified teachers in primary schools, Nigeria’s colleges of education have, for decades, been systematically plugging the gap. However, over time, these institutions have been faltering.

Not many people dream of going to a college of education. It is often the last option on the table for many youths. Nigerian youths prefer to go to a university or polytechnic. Not many remember to make college of education their first choice; going there is often considered an afterthought – the last alternative.

Colleges of Education (CoE), the doyen of higher learning in the past, have since fallen in the pecking order of tertiary education since the dawn of the 20th century.

In the 21st century, it is taking a turn for the worse like its counterparts – the university and polytechnic – except that the college of education system is the worst hit.

Presently, there are 152 accredited colleges of education, 21 owned by the Federal Government, 49 by states and 82 privately owned.

In the past, teachers are highly respected in the society, and no vital decision was taken in communities without them. But presently, the status of the teaching profession and teachers has declined so much so that no student wants to become a teacher; neither do they see their teachers as role models. The situation has so degenerated that the choice of teaching as a profession has become the last resort for many job seekers.

There is no doubt that there is dissatisfaction in the profession, particularly in the area of poor remuneration, working environment, inadequate teaching and learning tools, as well as little or no on-the-job training, among others.

The crisis in teaching and teacher education has raised concerns on the quality of teaching, students output as well as relevance of teachers’ programme.

An educationist, Dr Tony Adams, said until teachers are adequately remunerated like their counterparts in other fields, enrolment would remain low.

Adams said: “We call teaching a noble profession, but in reality, it is a pitiable profession. As long as children don’t find role models in teaching, enrolment will always remain low.

He lamented that teaching has been made an all-comers job as those who could not find their feet in their desired places opted for it as a last resort..

On her part, Dr Kemi Adesoga, a school owner, identified disparity in the reward system, lack of incentives, professionalism and good conditions of service, as some of the reasons why enrolment into NCE programmes are low.

For instance, she noted that a first class graduate in science education, who secures the best Federal Government’s teaching job in Nigeria, earns between N68,000 and N78,000 per month (salary grade level eight or nine). After 15 years of graduation, would at best be on a monthly salary of N175,000 (grade level 15), while a medical doctor who spent six years in the university earns in his first year of work, a minimum of N140,000 a month and three years later, earns between N250,000 and N300,000 monthly under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS 03).

“This is more than what his counterpart in the teaching profession would be entitled to in his 20 years in service in the same federal public service, Adesoga stated.

A retired principal, Mr Ademola Ajao, warned that if the situation is not addressed, the colleges may not get even less than 10 per cent to admit.

He said: “No student or parent will want to be in a profession where one struggles to fit into the society because of poor pay when there are other professions that command respect.”

Way forward
The Registrar, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, said teacher education needs a practical approach to achieve its goal, and the issue of enrolment in higher institutions, most especially in the faculties of education, calls for concern.

Adams, on his part, appealed to the Federal Government to prioritise teachers’ welfare to make the profession attractive.

He said: “It is okay if the government gives us the curriculum but allows us to micromanage it. You do not certify a doctor and tell him how to do his work, but teachers are asked to do things in a certain way and follow curriculums that are archaic and irrelevant to today’s realities.”

For Dr Jimi Benjamin, the NCE syllabus remains relevant and appropriate for teaching at the basic education level, and should not be eliminated or replaced with a degree.

Besides, he urged the government to look into creating more incentives for teachers in the form of robust salary structures and other welfare packages.

President of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Dr Smart Olugbeko, said CoEs lack the needed infrastructure to train students to make them 21st century compliant.

He said a committee set up by the Federal Government carried out a needs assessment of colleges of education and recommended that N366 billion was needed to bring them to global standard.
  
“The Federal Government later reviewed the report and came up with N465 billion as the amount needed to reposition colleges of education but, till now, the government has not released any funds to pursue this goal.
  
“That is why we are having problems. This will definitely affect products and that is the situation we have found ourselves,” Olugbeko lamented. 
   
A Professor of Adult Education, Stella Nwosisi, noted that by law establishing them, colleges of education are expected to produce qualified teachers for basic education, but sadly, teachers now produced are not properly trained.

With adequate motivation, Nwosisi said colleges of education would attract more students.

She stressed the need to review entry procedures into the country’s CoE, noting that the present structure debases teacher training institutions.

She, therefore, sought a collaboration that will improve the admission status of the colleges and eliminate the concept of lowering standards to attract students.

“Notwithstanding the overwhelming preference for admission into university, the provision for college of education as third choice in the JAMB form sought to obscure the system from others. After the selection of the very best from the first choice list, colleges of education are left with the low performing candidates and this does not augur well for teacher education,” Nwosisi stated.