‘We need to change curriculum that produces our teachers’

Former Special Adviser to Ogun State government on Education, Dr. Tunji Abimbola, has charged the Federal Government to set a vision that would redirect the country’s education sector and prioritise the teaching profession.

Abimbola in a chat with reporters at the ninth Total School Support Seminar/Exhibition (TOSSE), themed, “Creating A World of Possibilities,” said this must be done urgently to save the sector and reposition it for improved performance.

He said nowhere in the world has it been proven that education system can be better than the quality of its teachers, pointing out that at the moment majority of Nigerian teachers still lack the exposure needed to groom pupils for the 21st century world.

Subsequently, he tasked government and all stakeholders to rally and discuss on the kind of teachers the nation needs; the kind of principals required; the school structures and the kind of learning outcomes expected from the students, adding that until all these are well defined and decided, the status quo in the country’s education system will remain.

He said, “I think we have not set for ourselves a vision which actually determines the direction of your travel. No education system in the world can be better than the quality of its teachers. At the moment I do not think that our teachers are preparing our children for that world we are talking about, because they themselves have not been properly prepared so we need to go back to the drawing board and look at the people becoming our teachers.

“For us to put things in the proper perspective, we need to get the right people into our schools and change the curriculum that produces our teachers, once you do all that you will get the system back.

He continued, “We have people in our schools that are there not because they are interested in teaching but because they don’t have any other job. We need to have the right teachers who can be creative and prepare students for global challenges.

Commending the project facilitator Mrs. Yinka Ogunde for putting up such a huge educational programme, Abimbola urged participants to judiciously participate in the seminars, as all the topics are relevant and useful to the sector.