Hammed Shittu
25 November 2008
Ilorin — About 259 out of 19,125 teachers that participated in the recent assessment test for all public primary and secondary school teachers in Kwara State failed the test.
The key part of the assessment tagged, "papers one and two" had the teachers tested in English and Mathematics questions originally designed for primary four pupils.
Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Alhaji Bolaji Abdullahi, made this submission in Ilorin, in his report submitted at the stakeholders meeting of the education sector in the state.
He said, "only seven out of 19, 125 teachers met the minimum knowledge and capability threshold and this is unfortunate. Although 2, 628 of the teachers hold university degrees, only one of them achieved the threshold, while 10 others were among those who scored zero in the tests.
"In this part of the assessment, we gave teachers a test paper in reading and mathematics that has been completed by a primary four pupil, and the teachers were asked to mark the paper."
Abdullahi, who presented the report to the stakeholders noted that he was depressed by the findings, but reasoned that the dismal performance of the teachers was the outcome of a long period of systemic failure.
According to him, the teachers failed because their own education failed them at every stage, adding that teachers with higher qualifications did not necessarily perform well in the tests, as only one of 2, 628 holding degrees achieved the threshold, while 10 of them were among those who scored zero.
He, however, called on the teachers to continue to brace up with the current education reforms in the state, so as to provide an enduring education legacy for people of the state.
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