By Favour Nnabugwu

With the advent of increasing technology around the globe, the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) has raised alarm over the declining number of graduates in Science and Technology in the country’s institutions.

NCCE Executive Secretary, Prof Muhammad Junaid at the presentation of documents to the Minister of Education Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i in Abuja recently lamented the declining interest of students in science and technology just as he promised that the commission would address the problems of science and technology teachers.

Junaid said, “The development of the S&T Standards was informed by the pressing need to address both the rapid decline in academic achievements of science and technology graduates from our institutions of learning and the decreasing number of young people who choose to study science and technology because of the way science and technology are presented by teachers in schools”.

He assured that the education sector would provide the required teachers for science and technology to pep up the interest of students in those fields.

“It is our conviction that if teacher education is to produce teachers with appropriate knowledge, skills and positive dispositions to make the teaching and learning of science and technology more rewarding and attractive to young people, the prevailing orientation and structures for the training of science and technology teachers have to change.”

“I would like to urge the provosts and the entire college leadership to provide the necessary support and resources for effective institutionalization of the standards in their colleges. This can be ensured through appropriate budgeting and capacity building of academic staff.

“Standards and the Implementation Guide are not meant to be regarded as another add-on to the shelf of the Provost or the College Library. Rather, they should be used as a benchmark for the production of specialist teachers in science and technology”.

He however directed that all provosts of colleges of education should use the newly launched Science and Technology Teachers Standards and Teaching manual to produce highly qualified teachers in these subjects.

He said the standards would help restructure and re-orientate science and technology teachers to make teaching and learning of the subjects more attractive for young people.

He appealed to provosts to provide the necessary support through appropriate budgeting and capacity building for its academic staff.

“They should not be regarded as another add-on the shelf of the provost or library, rather, they should be used as a benchmark for the production of specialist teachers in science and technology,” Professor Junaid said.