No Free Pass: NUT Ogun Opposes JAMB Waiver for CoE
By Comr. Sewakanu Oladipupo
NUT Chairman, Ogun State
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Ogun State Wing has joined the National Leadership to demonstrate why it remains the conscience of the nation’s education sector. While kicking against the Federal Ministry of Education’s policy exempting prospective students of Colleges of Education from writing the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination, the Union has taken a principled stand to safeguard the future of education in Nigeria.
This is not mere opposition for its own sake. It is a measured, evidence-based intervention aimed at protecting standards, preserving the dignity of the teaching profession, and ensuring that those who shape young minds are themselves rigorously prepared.
The Union State Wing position is clear: lowering entry requirements into teacher education will not solve the crisis of teacher shortage and quality. On the contrary, it risks producing a generation of teachers ill-equipped to deliver quality instruction in literacy, numeracy, and critical thinking.
JAMB serves as a national benchmark for tertiary admissions. Removing it for Colleges of Education creates a dangerous two-tier system where teacher trainees are subjected to lower academic scrutiny than their counterparts in universities and polytechnics. If we would not trust a doctor trained without passing basic medical assessments, why should we entrust our children to teachers admitted without a standard aptitude test?
By rejecting this policy, NUT has lived up to its mandate as the guardian of professional standards in education. The Union Leadership has shown that it understands that the future of the nation is tied to the quality of those who teach in our classrooms.
The future of education cannot be left to government pronouncements alone. Parents, proprietors, academic staff unions, civil society organisations, and professional bodies must add their voices to this conversation. Knowledge is power, and consultation brings inclusiveness. When stakeholders are consulted, they take ownership of policies and hold themselves accountable for their success or failure.
Silence at this moment will be interpreted as consent. If we believe that teaching is a profession and not a fallback option, then we must say so loudly and clearly.
Today, the Nigeria Union of Teachers stands as the only consistent voice for the voiceless, those future builders of mind and destiny who have no platform to defend their profession. Teachers train doctors, engineers, lawyers, and leaders. Yet they are often the least consulted when policies affecting their profession are made.
The NUT’s intervention is a reminder that policy without consultation is imposition, and imposition without standards is a recipe for national decline.
If Nigeria is serious about reversing the decline in basic education and competing in a knowledge-driven world, then the Federal Ministry of Education must rescind this exemption and return to the table for genuine consultation with the NUT and other stakeholders. The future of millions of Nigerian children depends on it.