The National President of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Dr Smart Olugbeko, has raised the alarm over the declining state of Nigeria’s colleges of education, blaming poor government policies for slowly destroying teacher education in the country.
Dr Olugbeko stated that many colleges are on life support due to inadequate funding, unappealing working conditions, and a general lack of interest from students. He explained that while the government continues to convert colleges of education into universities, it has not altered the policy that requires the National Certificate in Education (NCE) as the minimum qualification for teaching at the basic level. He argued that university graduates are not adequately trained to teach in nursery and primary schools. “It is the NCE holders who are specifically trained to teach at that level. That is what the curriculum was designed for,” he said.
He also noted that many new education universities are struggling to attract students and now offer unrelated courses just to stay afloat. According to him, statistics from JAMB show that fewer students apply to study education or agriculture, showing that young Nigerians are not interested in becoming teachers or farmers.
Dr Olugbeko supported the policy signed by President Bola Tinubu in 2023, which allows colleges of education to offer both NCE and degree programmes. He praised the move as the right step and urged the President not to let politics destroy the policy. Reacting to Lagos State’s decision to convert its colleges of education to universities, Olugbeko said Lagos is different due to its large workforce, but warned that other states cannot afford to do the same. He urged the government to protect and invest in colleges of education, warning that losing them would be a significant setback for Nigeria’s education system.
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