Discuss any educational problem of your choice

The problem of shortage/ lack of qualified Teachers in our schools.

A teacher is a person who impact knowledge, skills and good behavior into an individual.
The teacher is the strong factor joining the pupils and the curriculum. Just as the success of the pupils in learning depends in some respects on the teacher so does the successful implementation of the curriculum depends on the teacher. The teacher is the key factor that can create a conducive teaching/learning environment that will make the pupil like to learn.
In the first instance, the pupil does not know that there is any curriculum. He does not partake in the formulation of the curriculum. He does not and cannot interpret it either. The teacher may partake or may not partake in the formulation of the curriculum but he interpretes, analysis and breaks it down to the pupils’ level.
The success of the teacher in all these activities can be attributed to these factors: These are:

i. The teacher’s knowledge of the curriculum
ii. The teacher’s knowledge of his pupils  
iii. The teacher’s resources fullness to create a conducive teaching/learning environment.
Teaching as a profession has a range of skills that must be imparted to the teacher trainers before they can become competent teachers. The task of teaching consist of so many discrete skills that must be brought into play before teaching can be successful.
And a qualified teacher is one who must have undergone the rigours of training to be a teacher. Teaching is a noble profession and only those who have been trained to appreciate teaching or those who have the calling to teach can be said to be qualified.
In recent times all graduates irrespective of the field of study he or she underwent is made to serve in a school as NYSC scheme.
In this case, you will see that most of these graduates do not have the love for teaching and as such they are not able to deliver or break the subject matter down to the understanding of the students.
For example mathematics as a subject, An individual may have an understanding in mathematics or may be trained as a mathematician but if the individual does not have the training on how to impact or bring to the understanding of his or her students mathematics, then that individual irrespective of his or her training as a mathematican is not qualified to teach mathematics. This is because the purpose of teaching is to bring about change. Brittle 1950 define teaching as a guidance of the pupils through planned activities so that the pupils may acquire the richest learning possible from their experience. Unqualified teacher is one of the problems facing education, you find in our schools today people who for example studied Micro biology in the higher institutions but during NYSC scheme has been made to teach children in the Nursery schools there is no doubt that such an individual is a misfit for that class. As he does not have the rudiment to teach at that level since he was not trained. But if you introduce a teacher who have studies primary school education to teach either in the Nursery or Primary school, he will do better since he must have undergone the training which qualifies him to teach at such levels.
Furthermore we have shortage of qualified teachers in our schools which has further lead to problem in our educational system as many teachers today venture into teaching as a last resort not because that is what they love to do.
Most school owners also do not help matters as they employ any Jack and Harry to teach in their schools because they are not willing to pay the kind of money which is commensurate to pay a qualified teachers. Most of our secondary schools today are in the Mercy of teaching practice students who are yet qualified in their training to handle the class they are assigned in their various schools.
Many people think that just anyone who could hold pieces of chalk and stand in front of the learners is a qualified teacher. Studies have shown this to be a wrong notion for an individual to be regarded as a qualified teacher, he/she needs possess a number of characteristics that befit the noble profession which are:
i. Good Character: The teacher as a moulder of lives must be an embodiment of good character. Eg he must be sincere, respect the truth, and his or her personal life must set a good example for his students 

ii. Very Competent to handle his/her teaching subject: One must know what he teaches to be able to inspire the confidence of his students. He should know his subject inside out, not just to cover as shown in the syllabus.
iii. Willing to add to her/her knowledge: Education is not static, new knowledge, ideas and insights of application of this knowledge come out daily. A teacher who teacher who does not update his knowledge regularly becomes state and outdated.
iv. He/She must be flexible and open minded: He is not fixed and limited in his ways. He is always ready to receive new ideas
v. Faces reality in an objective way: A quality teacher does not allow emotions to cloud his judgment.
vi. Firmness: As much as the teacher is kind towards his students, he should be firm in ensuring fair-play and equal treatment to all. Teachers weakness are exposed by his inconsistency in enforcing rules and acceptable mode of behaviour to mention but few. Failure to possess and display and or some of these qualities make people cast doubt on the genuiness of the teachers training and qualification in the profession
Finally, education being the greatest hope of a nation especially for a developing country like Nigeria, Cannot be left in the hands of Mediocre to continue to decline thus a problem to our education.  
Reference
Awotua-Efebo, E.B (1999) Effectives Teaching; principles and practice Nigeria ISBN
Agwu, S.N (2001) Teaching in Nigeria: Nigeria ISB H.
Gilbent (1951) The Art of Teaching, Great Britain