The Ebonyi State Wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has condemned the recent Federal Government’s policy waiving the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Matriculation Examination (JAMB) as an entry requirement for Colleges of Education, warning it will further lower education standards.
The Chairman of the State NUT, Francis Ekechi, made this position known to newsmen in an interview he granted to them.
He said on Tuesday in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, that the move would erode intellectual checks and make teaching an “all-comers affair”.
Ekechi said: “Lowering entry requirements sends a dangerous message that anyone can become a teacher without merit.
“This will erode public confidence in our education system.”
He said removing JAMB for Colleges of Education while keeping it for universities and polytechnics amounted to discrimination and suggested the government viewed teacher training as inferior.
The policy, he warned, would discourage high-performing students and flood classrooms with poorly prepared candidates.
He said: “NUT Ebonyi warns that waiving JAMB would harm pupils in primary and secondary schools.
“We cannot build a 21st-century economy with 19th-century teachers.
“Quality must start from recruitment.”
The union urged the government to reverse the policy and instead address poor pay, irregular salaries, low societal regard for teachers, and poor infrastructure in Colleges of Education.
It also called for bursaries, scholarships, automatic employment, and special allowances to attract quality candidates.
The NUT in Ebonyi State said it would mobilise members for lawful advocacy until the policy is reversed.
“Any nation that toys with its teacher quality toys with its future,” Ekechi warned.
