*(Opinion) Degree Class Distinction: Why Best Brains May Not Be Recruited As Teachers In Nigeria*
In it’s effort to improve the educational sector of the country, the federal government of Nigeria has recently embarked on several restructuring programmes in the educational sector of the country.
The programmes include, increment of the teachers years in service and adjustment of thier retirement age. Not only this, the federal government is currently looking into improved salary structure for Nigerian teachers which is expected to put smile to thier faces.
This is acceptable as it is aimed at motivating the teachers in order to work relentlessly towards the delivery of qualitative instructions which in turn improve learning.
However, the federal government’s effort to Improve education in Nigeria can be ironical especially with the intention to emphasize on class distinction in recruitment of teachers. The federal government through the ministry of education recently disclosed its intention to recruit as teachers only the graduates with first class and second class upper division.
This principle may not be helpful to Nigeria educational systems rather it may jeopardize the whole system. The reasons are not far fetched. The federal government and Its ministry of education need to beware that teaching is a profession that requires capable hands whose capability cannot be measured by the class of degree which may be acquire by any dubious means unknown to the government, but the needed competence through content mastery and pedagogical principles.
The difference between second class upper and the lower division is a slight one. Therefore graduates with 2:1 may not have content mystery beyond thier couterpart with 2:2 since the class difference is determined only by the school examinations while competence is needed.
Recruitment in to teaching should be on merit basis. It has to base on who actually knows it not who possess the highest class degree.
Lastly having 2:2 in some universities in Nigeria is a great task. A 2:2 graduate of these schools is equivalent to first class in another. These graduates have all it takes to train the young minds with adequate content mastery in thier area of specialisation but with thier class of degree won’t these best brains be left aside by the government for the less qualified ones with higher class?
