FCT NUT chair faults UTME waiver for Colleges of Education

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Wing Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Abdullahi Mohammed Shafas, has warned that the federal government’s decision to waive the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) requirement for admission into Colleges of Education could threaten the quality of teaching in the country.
Shafas stated this while addressing a press conference at the FCT Teachers House in Gwagwalada on Friday.
He said that while the union supports efforts to expand access to teacher education, removing UTME as an entry requirement could undermine the quality of teachers and, by extension, the quality of education in Nigeria.
According to him, the union’s major concern is that the policy could erode academic standards, weaken teacher competence and lower entry requirements.
He noted that removing UTME eliminates a standardised benchmark for assessing candidates’ literacy, numeracy and reasoning abilities.
“This creates a pathway for candidates with marginal academic preparation to enter teacher-training programmes,” he said.
He added that the move could also weaken subject mastery, as teachers who begin training with poor foundational knowledge may struggle to develop the depth of understanding required to teach effectively at the basic and secondary school levels.
According to him, the policy could further compromise pedagogical effectiveness, stressing that teaching requires both content knowledge and cognitive agility.
“UTME serves as a filter for the analytical and problem-solving skills that underpin effective classroom delivery,” he said.

المصدر: Daily Trust (NG)