The Buhari administration has fine-tuned plans to recruit only highly qualified Nigerians for teaching jobs next year.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Sonny Echonu, disclosed Saturday that in line with the president’s directive, individuals without first class and second class upper certifications will not be engaged for teaching roles in 2021.

“We must enforce Mr. President’s directive that only qualified teachers will be allowed into our classrooms,” Daily Trust reported Mr. Echonu to have said.

“By 2021, we will not engage teachers if they don’t meet a particular threshold. We are now limiting the entry point of teaching only to the best who are qualified.”

“We will engage individuals with second class upper and first class divisions,” the top official added, while supervising a competency test organised for teachers by regulatory body TRCN.

Peter Njiforti, a professor of economics at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, told Peoples Gazette Sunday that Nigerians with at least second class lower division should be considered for teaching employment.

“Not all first class and second class upper holders may be good teachers”, Mr. Njiforti argued.

“To me, the government should consider from 2.2 and above, and subject them to interview screening”, he said.

On his part, Dr. Alagbonsi Abdullateef, a senior lecturer in the University of Rwanda, told the Gazette that the new policy would be crucial in reforming Nigeria’s education system.

“The present education system where teachers are not even competent on the subjects they teach will continue to produce half-baked students and graduates from the various levels,” the Kwara-born academic said.

“For us to get our education right, we must retain the best trainers that will have the capacity to give the best to the trainees.”

Mr. Abdullateef advised the Buhari government to implement an attractive retention policy that will motivate first class and second class upper holders to keep faith with the teaching profession.

The Gazette reported that the Federal Government on October 5, approved a special salary scale for Nigerian teachers while also increasing the years of service from 35 years to 40 years.