Lagos NUT Kick Against FG’s UTME Waiver for Colleges of Education

The Lagos State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has faulted the Federal Government’s decision to exempt candidates seeking admission into Colleges of Education from writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), warning that the policy could undermine the quality and prestige of the teaching profession in the country.

In a statement issued by the union’s State Secretary, Mr. Gbenga Ayetoba, the NUT expressed strong reservations over the waiver, which was announced at the recent JAMB policy meeting.

According to the Federal Government’s directive, candidates seeking admission into Colleges of Education would no longer be required to sit for the UTME, a development the union believes could have far-reaching consequences for teacher education and professional standards.

Reacting to the policy, the Lagos State Chairman of the NUT, Mr. Akintoye Hassan, said the move risked lowering the academic threshold for entry into teacher training institutions, thereby weakening the overall quality of education graduates.

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He argued that easing entry requirements could lead to the admission of candidates who may lack genuine interest or aptitude for the teaching profession.

“This means that the candidates’ entry into Colleges of Education would be filled with students who have no business with teaching and who would eventually struggle with their subject content. The weak content knowledge, adding to weak pedagogy, is equal to graduates who would not be able to teach effectively,” Hassan said.

He further cautioned that such a policy could erode the status of teaching as a respected profession, making it less attractive to high-performing students who might otherwise pursue careers in fields such as law, medicine, or engineering.

“Brighter candidates may avoid the education profession for other disciplines like law, medicine, engineering, etc. The result would be that those who would be found in our classrooms are those who couldn’t get into other fields,” he noted.

Hassan warned that the long-term implications of the policy could be detrimental not only to the education sector but to national development as a whole.

“Bad teachers don’t just affect one class; they affect the whole society at large. No country can develop beyond the quality of its education. If the policy is allowed to stand, the adverse effect would be too grievous for society; fixing the error later would cost far more than maintaining a higher entry standard now,” he cautioned.

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The NUT Lagos chairman, therefore, called for a comprehensive Education Summit involving key stakeholders across the sector to address challenges responsible for declining enrolment in Colleges of Education and to develop sustainable solutions.

He also referenced the legislation signed in 2020 by the late President Muhammadu Buhari, which approved the extension of teachers’ retirement age from 60 to 65 years and the service period from 35 to 40 years, describing it as a positive step toward strengthening the profession.

The union maintained that safeguarding entry standards into teacher training institutions remains critical to improving the quality of education and restoring the dignity of the teaching profession in Nigeria.