AFRICA, Nigeria, Tales of Ghost, Unqualified Teachers in Nigeria Public Schools

Throughout 2012, across states, governors were swinging sledge hammers on teachers. They seemed to have woken- quite suddenly- from a deep slumber to realize that the major reason why thousands of students were performing woefully in final year public examinations conducted by WAEC and NECO was perhaps because even their teachers needed proper schooling.

From Bauchi, Gombe, Kogi, Ondo, Edo to mention a few the tsunami raged on. A rough collation of reported figures reveals that since 2012 leading to February this year, across some states 3,170 ghost teachers were discovered, while ,274 others forged their certificates. The record also revealed that a staggering 6,502 were unqualified.

But the latest revelation of the depth of rot in the basic education sub-sector in some states was reported in Kaduna state two weeks ago. 1,300 teachers failed the same tests administered to primary four pupils. Of the total 1,599 teachers who sat for the examination only one of them scored 75 percent, 250 scored between 50 to 75 percent and 1,300 scored below 25 percent.
These tests were just a follow-up to an earlier statement by the late Governor Patrick Yakowa November last year that no fewer than 2,000 teachers had been discovered with fake certificates and the Chairman of the Kaduna state House of Assembly on education Yunusa Mohammad who said that out of the 36,000 teachers in the state, 15,000 were not qualified.

It was not the first time teachers were failing such a test in Nigeria. In 2008, Kwara state government administered the same primary four examinations to 19,125 teachers and out of the 259 who scored zero, 10 of them possessed university degrees.

Governor Kayode Fayemi administered a similar test on 500 school principals who failed woefully and have since been reduced to either classroom teachers or demoted to vice-principals in rural schools.

But the big question is 'why are there so many unqualified teachers in public schools?' State officials are quick to point accusing fingers at the education secretaries of local government areas for dashing teaching appointments based on political patronage and not competence.

However, very little funding if any at all, is budgeted for training and capacity building of the few qualified teachers. In Kaduna state for example, the government spent N3.6bn on projects in the education sector last year. Emphasis was placed on renovation of schools infrastructures, payment of scholarships, construction works in its state tertiary institutions, purchase of equipment, boreholes, furniture but no major funds are allocated for the training of teachers.