Abuja: The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has urged President Bola Tinubu to prioritise teachers’ values and welfare to make the profession more attractive for the younger generation.
The National President of NUT, Comrade Audu Amba, appealed in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
He urged the government to make teachers a model and recognise the teaching profession as a pillar of societal advancement.
Amba frowned at the current situation where teaching is made a “Hobson’s choice” among admissions and job seekers—an option not because it’s your preferred choice but because it’s the only option available after others have been filled.
He called on President Tinubu to make deliberate policies that would place teachers’ seats in the front rows of other professions and make the teaching profession a preferred choice for youths.
Amba said many students had little or no passion for teaching, which was most demonstrated when a candidate scored low marks in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
According to him, candidates who score below the cut-off marks of first—and second-choice courses are often compelled to study Education to avoid losing admission for the year.
“Today, in our secondary schools, everybody is scrambling to get 300 or above in the UTME to read medicine.
“The university system made it clear that before you read. In medicine, you must score 300 marks and above. Why are such rules not applicable to Education?
“Those students who want to read Medicine to become Doctors, who taught and will still teach them, is it not the teacher?” he retorted.
According to him, if the teacher is not sound, how could they impart the needed knowledge and training the child needs to study medicine?
“It should be that the best candidate who got 300 scores should study Education and teach.
“That is happening in some countries that have decided to change their direction, and that’s why they are getting it right.
“A teacher should be brilliant, knowledgeable, and should be the best to impart knowledge,” he said.
Amba urged the government to take cues from countries like Finland, where the teaching profession is highly valued and respected, and it has been possible to attract many applicants.
According to him, Finland prioritises Education and has systems that ensure teachers are respected professionals with a high emolument and a strong sense of autonomy, stability, and security in their work.
“If you go to Finland today, you’ll be proud to be called a teacher because the issue is that teaching is not just lucrative but even more challenging.
“But today in Nigeria, parents, even students, don’t encourage their children to go into teaching.
“Go to classrooms; just ask little primary school children who want to be a teacher. Hardly will you see anybody raising their hand.
“But ask, “Who wants to be a doctor, lawyer, or engineer? They will raise their hands.
“Why is it so? Because they feel those professions are valued, respected, and well remunerated,” he said.
Amba, therefore, urged the government to implement policies to change the trend and psyche by making the teacher a role model and encouraging its best to become a teacher.
