By By Aminat BARUWA-ASHAFA
In a recent post, the CEO of Moniepoint, Tosin Eniolorunda, revealed that the firm struggles to fill over 500 vacancies with locally qualified talent, emphasising the inability of many applicants to meet global standards of competence and quality. His remarks generated mixed reactions. While some questioned the veracity of the claims, others lamented the declining state of education in Nigeria, and many seized the opportunity to tongue-lash the government over the nation’s failing educational system. This piece, however, is not primarily about the claims themselves or whether they were exaggerated. Rather, it is a personal reflection on the journey and troubling state of education in my beloved country, Nigeria.
Education has always been regarded as a mechanism of transformation. If education must truly transform individuals and societies, then its custodians must themselves be embodiments of excellence. After all, who gives what they do not have? Although one may argue that students can eventually surpass their teachers, there is no gainsaying the fact that teachers remain the foundation builders of every profession and every nation. The quality of any educational system can hardly rise above the quality of those entrusted with teaching within it.
Sadly, the educational sector we already lament appears to be drifting towards an even more dangerous decline. Following the release of the 2026 UTME results and the controversies that trailed the conduct of the examination, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board announced that candidates seeking admission into Education and Agriculture programmes would no longer be required to sit for the UTME.
With utmost humility, I seek to question this decision, especially as it concerns Education, since that is my constituency. Why should Education programmes, of all programmes, be exempted from a process designed to assess academic readiness for tertiary education? While this development may not be entirely new, it is important to note that admission requirements for teacher-training programmes, particularly the NCE, have historically remained among the least demanding. This latest decision therefore raises serious concerns about the future of education in Nigeria.
Can a nation genuinely improve its education system by lowering the standards for those who will eventually stand before classrooms and shape future generations? If excellence is demanded in medicine, engineering, law, and technology, why should the profession responsible for producing all these professionals appear to require less academic scrutiny? Are we attempting to solve the shortage of teachers, or are we gradually institutionalising mediocrity within the educational system? If education is truly the bedrock of national development, should we not demand the highest standards from those who will teach?
These questions become even more pressing because the consequences of poor education extend far beyond the classroom. A weak educational foundation inevitably produces weak institutions, weak leadership, poor productivity, and limited national development. If those entrusted with moulding young minds are not rigorously trained and assessed, what becomes of the nation’s future? Can the standard of education truly rise when the pathway into the teaching profession appears to become less rigorous?
With due respect, this development seems inconsistent with the personality and public disposition of the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, who has consistently projected himself as an advocate of excellence and accountability in the education sector. One therefore wonders whether there are plans for an alternative assessment framework for Education candidates, or whether admissions would now rely solely on ‘excellent’ O’Level results.
At a time when Nigeria desperately needs educational reform, policies capable of further weakening standards should be approached with caution. The future of any nation rests significantly on the quality of its teachers because no society can rise above the quality of its education system.
This is therefore a passionate call to JAMB and all stakeholders in the education sector to have a rethink. Efforts to increase accessibility to Education programmes must not come at the expense of competence, quality, and excellence. In attempting to solve one problem, we must be careful not to create a far more damaging one.
