By Okeoghene Akubuike
Abuja – Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, the Registrar, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has underscored the need for pedagogy to enable teachers at all levels to deliver effective teaching and learning skills.
Ajiboye made this known the ongoing 2018 Education Convergence Summit organised by Educorp World in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja on Thursday.
He said that pedagogy was all about teaching skills, both the knowledge of those skills and the art and science of using teaching techniques.
Ajiboye said that pedadogical skills was, therefore, a necessary criteria for any teacher in the country.
He noted that some university lecturers lacked pedagogical skills, especially those without any qualifications in education.
According to him, what to teach is equally as important as how to teach it.
”It is common place that you do not only need the knowledge of the content but you also need to know how to dispense that knowledge.
“Even if you want to teach outside the country, they will want you to go through some certain pedagogical training.
“So knowledge of pedagogy is very critical for you to make a success of your vocation as a teacher.’’
The registrar said that Faculty of Arts in the University of Ibadan was partnering with TRCN to make sure the lecturers undergo some pedagogical training.
Prof. Steve Nwokeocha, the Executive Director, African Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities, said pedagogy helped a teacher teach effectively.
“Pedagogy helps a teacher teach effective because you must understand the stages of it.
”You need to understand the concept of assessment, family background and its impact on the learner.
“Someone who did not read education has no idea of all of these.”
Nwokeocha also noted that there was a huge concern for the lack of pedagogical skills, especially at the higher education level.
He said that to address the issue, National Universities Commission in 2003 to 2006 introduced Federal Institution for Higher Education Pedagogy to train lecturers in universities, Colleges of Education and Polytechnics without education background.
“ABU recognised that university lectures needed teaching skills and in 2003 it became a senate policy, that is why TRCN collaborated with ABU to introduce Professional Diploma in Education,
“In University of Illorin, Senate has accepted that by policy, university teachers need pedagogical skills to be effective.
“That was why TRCN collaborated with Unillorin to introduce Post-Doctoral Diploma in Education at the time of Prof. Ishaq Oloyede. ‘’
The professor said that universities in the western world were now being required to study pedagogy in spite their learning resources because things were evolving.“It is wrong for anyone to say we have resources without pedagogy,’’ he said.
Dr Rahman Yusuf, the Director, Research, Innovation and Technology, National Universities Commission (NUC) said the commission also recognised the need for pedagogy.
According to him NUC recognises, promotes and sponsors that all out teachers need pedagogical skills at all levels.