Policy Brief: Improving Teacher Training and Curriculum Development

By Idemudia Richard

Executive Summary

The National Policy on Education (NPE) in Nigeria has made significant strides in shaping the country's education system, particularly through the introduction of Universal Basic Education (UBE), the focus on technical and vocational education, and efforts to promote inclusive education. However, despite its well-intentioned framework, compared to global standards, there are notable loopholes that have hindered it from delivering its promises on quality education.?

The education system in Nigeria faces significant challenges related to teacher quality and monitoring mechanisms. While the National Policy on Education emphasizes teacher development, practical implementation has been lacking, leading to underqualified teachers, poor professional development, and insufficient teacher welfare (Jacob, Ogunode & Samuel, Adah; 2020). Additionally, weak monitoring and accountability systems have resulted to the ineffectiveness of our national policy on education despite its potentials for a robust quality educational provisions.

Consequently, this policy review, explores two critical areas: (1) improving teacher training and welfare, and (2) strengthening monitoring and accountability. It proposes strategic policy interventions to address these gaps, enhance teacher competency, and ensure sustainable, quality education as part of SDG 4.

Background

Considering the specific vision of SDG 4; which seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, teachers are integral key to the attainment of this goal, and their training, well-being, and accountability mechanisms are critical in delivering quality education. However, as observed and as recent reports would have it, the Nigeria’s current system of education faces multiple barriers, such as poor teacher preparation and insufficient monitoring, which hamper educational progress.?

Current Situation and Challenges:

Key in the focus of this document is Teacher Training, Teacher Welfare, Monitoring and Accountability. A large number of teachers lack the necessary qualifications, and many do not have access to continuous professional development especially teachers in rural areas. This generally affects the quality of education delivery, but particularly in underserved areas.

There is also the issue of low salaries often face by teachers, poor working conditions, and limited opportunities for career advancement, leading to low motivation and high attrition rates.

Then, the absence of robust monitoring systems means there is little accountability for the delivery of education services. This undermines policy implementation and results in inadequate outcomes at all levels of the education system.

Key Issues

Some of the key issues highlighted and considered in this document are:

• Teacher Quality and Training Gaps: Many teachers enter the profession without the required qualifications or with outdated training. Continuous development opportunities are scarce, leading to a gap in modern teaching practices. Despite the policy’s ambitions, the Nigerian education sector remains underfunded, with funding falling below the UNESCO-recommended 26% of the national budget. This limits the ability to provide quality facilities, employ qualified teachers, and deliver impactful education (UNESCO 2019).
• Poor Teacher Welfare: Teachers are often overworked, underpaid, and undervalued. This discourages talent retention and impacts the quality of education delivery.
• Weak Monitoring Mechanisms: There is a lack of data-driven monitoring and evaluation of teachers' performance, education outcomes, and policy effectiveness, limiting improvements in the system. While the NPE is progressive on paper, there are significant challenges in implementation, particularly at the grassroots level. Issues such as inadequate infrastructure, lack of teaching materials, and inconsistent teacher training undermine the policy’s effectiveness (UNICEF 2018).
• Therefore, to correct this henceforth going, there is a new to develop strategic policies to either reinforce the existing ones or simply replace them.?

Policy Options?

1.???? ?Comprehensive Teacher Training Reform

Mandate a continuous professional development program for all teachers, integrating technology and modern teaching methodologies.

·?????? Pros: Enhances teacher competence and adapts education delivery to contemporary needs.

·?????? Cons: Requires significant funding and a coordinated national effort.

·?????? Strategies: Partner with educational consulting firms and Edu-Tech companies to provide subsidized or free services (UNESCO, 2019). Offer refresher training during school breaks, with incentives for teachers who complete the program.

2.???? Teacher Welfare Improvement Program

Establish a structured teacher welfare framework that includes salary increases, health benefits, and clear career advancement paths.

·?????? Pros: Improves teacher motivation, job satisfaction, and retention.

·?????? Cons: Potential budgetary constraints for implementation.

·?????? Strategies: Collaborate with private industry to offer discounts on goods and services for teachers, similar to programs in Asian countries. Provide tax incentives for companies that participate in these initiatives.?

3.???? Strengthened Monitoring and Accountability Systems

Implement a data-driven monitoring system to track teacher performance, educational outcomes, and policy implementation.

·?????? Pros: Improves accountability and ensures policies are effective, allowing for timely interventions.

·?????? Cons: Requires investment in technology and training of monitors.

·?????? Strategies: Develop a digital portal to monitor teacher performance and progress. Collaborate with stakeholders such as teacher unions and policymakers to ensure smooth implementation.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION STEPS:

1.???? Comprehensive Teacher Training Reform is essential for equipping teachers with the necessary skills and knowledge to improve learning outcomes.

Strategies:

·? Allocate funding for teacher development and welfare programs.

·???? Network with educational consulting firms, Edu-Tech companies and tertiary institutions of learning within and outside state to provide subsidized of free services.

·????Developing partnerships with education technology firms to provide continuous professional development, especially during the long vacation. Create some sort of three (3) weeks refresher training certification during the long vacation holiday and provide some sort of reward or incentives for teachers who successfully complete the three (3) weeks program.

2.???? Teacher Welfare Improvement is crucial for attracting and retaining qualified teachers.

Strategies:

·?????? Network with various arms and sectors of the Nigerian industries to provide a form of discounted prices on goods and services for teachers, as obtainable in some Asian countries. This can come inform of partnership between the ministry of education and these industries; while such industries enjoy a reward of discounted tax agreement from the federal government.

·?????? Develop a scheme that improves the salaries of teachers, especially those who have shown remarkable productivity level and career growth.

3.???? Strengthened Monitoring and Accountability will ensure that both training and welfare policies are effectively implemented and continuously improved.

Strategies:

·?????? Network with educational consulting firms and Edu-Tech companies within and outside state to provide subsidized of free services. Create a teacher monitory data based portal where teacher profile and career progress can easily be monitored. This will create a national monitoring framework, utilizing digital platforms to track progress of teachers.

·?????? Engage stakeholders (e.g., teachers' unions, policymakers) to ensure policy buy-in and smooth??????? implementation.

·?????? Collaboration with international organizations, private sectors, and civil society is essential to bring in expertise, technology, and funding for improving education delivery and meeting SDG 4 goals.

?Potential Impacts

·?????? Enhanced teacher capacity and satisfaction, leading to improved student holistic development outcomes.

·?????? A more transparent and accountable education system that compels teacher-workforce productivity and the consequent attainment of a competitive educational global standard.

·?????? This eventually cumulates to achieving SDG 4 and providing quality education for all students in Nigeria.

Conclusion

Addressing gaps in teacher training and welfare, alongside strengthening monitoring and accountability mechanisms, will create a sustainable pathway to quality education in Nigeria. These policy improvements are critical for achieving the targets of SDG 4 and ensuring a robust, efficient education system. We must remember that a robust educational system is hinged on the quality of the educators that are tool of educational strategy and policy implementation at the grass-root level.

REFERENCES

Global Education Monitory Repot Team (2020): Inclusive education in Nigeria: policy progress weakened by financing, ED/GEMR/MRT/2020/P1/9 REV. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000190196?posInSet=4&queryId=eae2467b-401e-4a0a-8b77-26e4eefc475f

Jacob, Ogunode & Samuel, Adah. (2020). Educational policy in Nigerian: Challenges of Implementation and Ways Forward. Middle European Scientific Bulletin. 4. 1-9. 10.47494/mesb.2020.4.30.

UNESCO Institute of Statistics (2019) data on government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP https://data.uis.unesco.org/index.aspx?queryid=3373

UNICEF (2018) Nigeria education profile https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/education

World Bank (2019) Data portal on Nigeria https://data.worldbank.org/country/nigeria?view=chart