LEARNING HOW TO TEACH - The upgrading of unqualified primary teachers in sub-Saharan Africa
second batch of the STUP course could not take all applicants. They advocate extending STUP to provide further opportunities for upgrading. (37: 7 studentteachers, STUP, Zaria)
Shortages of teachers are directly linked to the relative unattractiveness of the profession. In fact, every student leaving senior secondary school in Nigeria wants to go to university; the second-best option is the polytechnic college. The College of Education is the last option. The rate at which teachers leave the profession, or even not enter, is quite high. Teachers don’t get what they want and as soon as the window of opportunity opens, they will leave. That is why many teachers have not chosen to be upgraded. (35:STUP coordinator and assistant coordinator, NTI) Several suggestions have been made how to attract more people into the teaching profession and to make them stay: Provide them scholarship, having free education at all levels of teacher training; provide a special salary structure which is attractive ‌ As a matter of fact, 14,000 Naira is a very low salary, especially in urban areas. (35: STUP coordinator and assistant coordinator, NTI)
It is essential to follow up the STUP course with continuing professional development of qualified teachers, for which TRCN expects STUP will provide a good foundation. After STUP, there should be workshops, seminars. Follow-up is very important. That is what we need: on-the-job training. Otherwise, the qualified teachers will become underqualified again. (39: 3 tutors, STUP, Zaria) NTI notes that new information and communications technologies (ICT) could be valuable contributors to future upgrading programmes. Referring to the easy adoption of mobile phones in Nigeria, even for illiterate persons, NTI expects that it is relatively easy to make teachers skilled in ICT. With the ongoing introduction of wireless Internet connections, the use of computers for communication and exchange of materials is widely attainable. Already teachers download materials developed by Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA). NTI sees this as an option for teacher upgrading, which will call not only for a large investment in computers but also for the improvement of ICT skills and the development of relevant materials.
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