Uchechukwu Nnaike
With the advancement in technology, which has led to the evolution of the education sector and other sectors of the economy, the Corona College of Education, Ilupeju, Lagos, has called for the restructuring of teacher education so as to produce quality teachers that will prepare students for the future.
Speaking in Lagos recently, at the first graduation ceremony of the college with the theme ‘Reinventing Teacher Education for a Constantly Changing World’, the Chief Executive Officer, Corona Schools’ Trust Council, Mrs. Adeyoyin Adesina, stressed the need for the reappraisal of teaching methods considering the new jobs, new role and skills that are required for existing jobs, even jobs that are yet to be determined for the future.
According to her, “when we talk about reinventing education, we are looking at how we teach, methodology, materials and resources that we use in teaching and the readiness of the students bearing in mind that the students we are teaching today are very different from those that we taught a few years ago.
“Education then was teacher-centred, but now education is pupil-led so we need to rethink how we deliver it. We need to prepare teachers, knowing again the problem we have, our workforce are resistant to change and innovation.”
Asked what the college does differently, she said: “We know our pedigree as an educational institution and we know how often we have called ourselves to task to look at our curriculum and how we teach. We know the level of exposure we have opened up our students to, and in doing that, it will impact teacher training and teacher quality.
In her remarks, the Deputy Chairman Governing Council, Dr. Alero Roberts, called for more attention to, and funding of education, especially teacher education, as teachers are the bedrock of any nation.
She said the college was established to address the dire need for professional teachers in the country, adding that about two decades ago, the teaching profession more or less became a dumping ground of people waiting to get jobs in other sectors.
“That is not the quality of teacher children should have. Children need teachers who are committed to ensuring their optimal development; who are able to make them life-long learners; who are able to instill in them those principles of integrity, courtesy and good behavior that carries them through into adulthood.”
The about 124 graduands, who completed the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE) and Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) programmes, were also inducted by the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).
