The leadership of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) in Oyo state, has called on the Federal Government to increase the scores and admission requirements for education degree applicants to universities and colleges of education in the country, in order to improve the quality of teachers in the country.

The NUT said if the requirements are increased, many applicants will not see teaching and education courses as a last resort to those who couldn’t secure admission to study their dream courses.

The call was made by the Oyo State Chairman, Nigerian Labour Congress, Waheed Olojede, while speaking at an event to commemorate the 2018 World Teachers Day, which held at Teachers House, Oluyole Estate, Ring Road, Ibadan.

Olojede, who doubles as the State Secretary of the NUT, noted that a key issue that has affected the quality of education over the years, was the mindset of many people who joined the teaching profession.

He said many admission seekers consider education courses as those reserved for only those who don’t have the requirements to study Medicine, Law, Pharmacy, Engineering among other top rated courses.

He stressed that the trend must be reversed and education and teachers’ training courses must be taken as First Class courses with stiffer admission requirements, if there must be improvement in the nations educational system, particularly in the training of teachers.

In her remarks at the event, Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Aderonke Makanjuola, disclosed that the state government has approved the promotion of primary schools teacher across the state.

She added that the promotion starts from 2011 and assured the teachers that the government is committed to ensuring that beneficiaries get their letters and the entitlements in due course.

Earlier in his remark, state chairman of the NUT, Adedoyin Samson, commended the state government for the promotion, and urged the administration to explore the various opportunities for improvement of the educational sector.

Adedoyin stressed that this year’s World Teachers Day celebration theme: “The right to education means the right to qualified teachers” suggests that quality education is a constitutional right of every child as coded in by the United Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and entrench in the Nigeria Universal Basic Education law.