TEACHING AS A PSEUDO PROFESSION IN NIGERIA
TEACHING AS A PSEUDO PROFESSION IN NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
Teaching as a
profession in Nigeria as elsewhere in the world has been a contentious issue
over the years (that is teaching whether teaching and teacher should be
regarded as a profession and a professional respectively or not). This paper brings to light the reason behind the
criticism of teaching as a pseudo profession and the urgent need for
government and its agencies to re-enforce the decree establishing the T.R.C.N.
so as to make teaching an enviable profession which will compete favourably with all professions.
INTRODUCTION
According to Teachers Registration Council of
Nigeria (T.R.C.N., 2004) Act No.31 of 1993 teachers are categorized into four
(4) classes as follows: 1. A - Class: Holders of PhD in Education or PhD in
other fields plus Education (e.g. P.G.D.E. and N.C.E.); 2. B - Class: Holders
of Masters Degree in Education or Masters in other field plus Education (e.g.
P.G.D.E. and N.C.E.); 3. C - Class: Holders of Bachelor in Education or
Bachelor in other fields plus Education (e.g. P.G.D.E. and N.C.E.); 4. D -
Class: Holders of Nigeria Certificate in Education (N.C.E.) or equivalent.
Due to the above categorization, the status
of teaching as a profession in Nigeria as elsewhere in the world has been a
contentious issue over the years (that is teaching whether teaching and teacher
should be regarded as a profession and a professional respectively or not).
Notwithstanding, some scholars have argued in favour while others against for
instance Goodlard (1990) posit that the autonomy and self governance is
principally missing in teaching.
Abdal-Haqq (1992) argued that when teaching
is examined within the traditional perceptions of what constitutes a
profession, certain attributes are missing. First, teaching lacks clear
defined, codified and accessible knowledge base and where it exists, it has not
been useful. Furthermore, Ajayi (2004) observed that teaching meets the more
accepted characteristics of a profession partly but not fully because of lack
of teachers’ commitment to the profession, the porosity of entrance into
teaching, the low social status of teaching and poor remuneration of teachers.
Orubite (2010) posits that the contention among teachers at various level (primary, secondary and tertiary institution) on who is more superior impede the professionalization of teaching, making teaching to lack the basic prerequisite of being a full profession. Although, the decree setting up Teachers’ Registration Council was promulgated in 1993, it is yet to be fully operational. Consequently, autonomy in teaching is significantly absent and the vocation is yet to receive professional status in Nigeria (Dada, 2010).
Hence, the T.R.C.N. (2004), further argued
that teaching is the oldest and noblest of all professions. However, over the
years things appeared to have changed for the worst. In status and qualities,
there is the need to enact code of conduct to define the minimum standards
expected of a professional teacher.
From this quotation it could be observed that
teaching before now, was a profession in Nigeria but lost her glory as a
distinct profession. Thus, there is need to professionalize teaching again to
regain its lost status.
FACTORS THAT SUBJECT TEACHING TO CRITICISM OF BEING A PSEUDO PROFESSION AND TEACHERS A PSEUDO PROFESSIONALS
Poor Salaries
Poor salaries is
understood to be one of the many factors which highly discharged qualified
people from getting into the teaching profession and instead gives those who do
little incentives to improve their teaching skills.
Distorted
Image of Teachers in the Society
The way teachers are seen in the society has
an important effect on its level of professionalism. Teachers in today’s
society are nothing more than mere peasants as compared to those in the olden
days, where being a teacher was an honor indeed to be reckoned with due to the
fact that there were laid down structure and facilities to encourage and
motivate teachers.
Lack
of proper professional and in-training
Most teachers in the educational sector are
employed regardless of their competencies and skills even when they are not
qualified.
Poor Work Environment and Infrastructures
The un-availability of adequate
infrastructure makes the teaching profession very unattractive and inconvenient
for anyone. There are lots of schools where teaching could have been made easy
and convenient but the government has neglected their duties.
The Inadequacy of Staffs can Pose as a
Serious Factor
There are lots of unqualified staffs, in the
sense that they lack the basic skills, knowledge and expertise to deliver
quality teaching services.
Porosity of the Entry Level of Students and
even Teachers in the Educational Sectors
Porosity of the entry level of students and
even teachers in the educational sectors is usually a major problem that
affects the teaching as a profession in Nigeria, in the sense that they are not
well screened and tested to be fit as teachers in the educational sector.
MAJOR WAYS TO CORRECT THIS IMPRESSION ON TEACHING BEING A PSEUDO PROFESSION
Studies on the relationship between
professionalization and teachers’ effectiveness; as well as the co-relationship
between teaching and national development are quite revealing (Abdal-Haqq,
1992). The understandings that the Nigerian Federation is an embodiment of
social institutions that are manned by trained personnel who are produced by
teachers; and that these institutions function collectively for national
development, propelled our quest for the professionalization of teaching.
It is therefore imperative that entrance into
teaching should be controlled and regulated by a professional body; the
T.R.C.N. This can better be achieved through the professionalization of
teaching.
The unethical behaviour among teachers, the
lack of standardized test scores, the rising tide of violence and teenage
pregnancy in public schools, the poor academic performance of students,
academic dishonesty among teachers at all levels, the ineffectiveness of
regulatory body in the teaching occupation; the poor performance of most
teachers and the general institutional weakness in Nigeria among others are all
pointers that teaching should be professionalized. In addition, the low social
status ascribed to teaching, the poor remuneration and other motivational
incentives in teaching jobs further amplified why the occupation should be
professionalized.
For occupation to be professionalized,
society must hold such a vocation in high esteem, and that practitioners in
such occupation must be highly remunerated and motivated.
Improvement in the quality of education and
school results ultimately takes place in the classroom, once a staff is
properly motivated and held in high esteem by the management, efficiency at the
workplace would be guaranteed.
This would in turn accelerate overall growth
and development of the organization and the nation at large. The believe that
professional teachers are trained not only to solve problems in the classroom,
but also to initiate proposals for solving national problems for the fact that
most proposals failed especially in the educational sector for they were not
written by professional teachers nor consulted.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Entry
in the teaching profession should be controlled and regulated by the
professional body (TRCN)
2. All
unethical behaviours emanating from teachers should be discouraged to give a
better status to teachers.
3.
Government should accord higher social status to teachers through improved
remunerations and other motivational incentives
4.
There should be improvement in the quality of education and school results
5. The
government should embark on the training and retraining of teachers through
workshops, seminars, conferences as well
CONCLUSION
A
teacher being the facilitator of learning, a counselor to his students, a useful member of the school community, a
disciplinarian, an evaluator, a model, a custodian of culture as well as a link
between the school and community should be directly initiated into the
forefront of national issues.
It is
therefore, believed that his vast knowledge, skills, his continuous growth in
the profession, his mental health, and his belonging to the professional
bodies, all of which motivate him to play his various role to the best of his
ability. Some teachers lack professional zeal, qualification and competence.
Therefore,
with this attribute one can rightly say that some are teachers and some are
rather cheats. They became teachers because they could not get employment
elsewhere, and leave teaching as soon as they get a greener pasture. These
teachers believe that they are managing the teaching profession but the crux of
the matter is that it is teaching that should manage them.
They
took teaching as a stepping stone for other lucrative jobs. It has been
observed that some persons of doubtful character were engaged as a teacher.
This entails that a square peg in a round hole. By and large, through
pupil-teacher schemes, teacher training and better incentives the position will
surely improve for the better.
Therefore,
teaching is not profession but an emerging profession or semi-profession. To
this end, there is an urgent need for government and its agencies to re-enforce
the decree establishing the T.R.C.N. so as to make teaching an enviable
profession which will compete favourably with all professions.
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TEACHING AS A PSEUDO PROFESSION IN NIGERIA
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