(d) Mathematics and the Sciences
VII. View some Issues on the African Teacher Training Colleges
The quality of education In Afnca and the learning achievement of the Afncan students, depend largely on the competence, personality and dedication of the teacher But this IS not the whole story because the competence of every teacher depends also on the kind of teacher training he/she receives What kind of teacher trammq programmes do we haveIn place) According to reportsbythe ACO, a few isolated and piecemeal changes have taken place This information IS also confirmed by Coombs (1985)
In MalawI, for example, teacher trainingISdetermined to a large extent by the country's national needs, and as reflected by the structure of the teaching profession The Institutions produce two categories of teachers namely, university graduates and diploma teachers on the one hand, and those With the MInistry of Education Teachers' Certificates on the other The latter are trained to teach In
the primary schools, while the former are destined for the secondary schools All training courses for primary school teachers are two years In duration Entry Into the two year colleges IS based on the possession of a Primary School LeaVing Certificate
In Ghana, the National Teacher TrainingCounol ISresponsible to the Minister of Education for coordinating all forms of pre-university teacher education The training colleges for primary school teachers Include the post-primary and post-secondary colleges The post-primary colleges offer subjects up to a level comparable With the General Certificate of Education at the Ordinary Level, and the post-secondary colleges go beyondthrsto Advanced level standards There are also two-year speciahst colleges which train for post-secondarypracncrsmq teachers Thesespeoahst teachers teach the lower forms of secondary schools The main responsibilities of produonq graduate teachers for secondary schools, teachers' colleges and polytechnic In the country ISassiqned to the University of Cape Coast
In lesotho, In 1974, Teacher education was carned out by seven rnrssron control colleges which were concerned With A three year post-prrmary course known as the Lesotho Primary Teachers' Certificate and a two year post-Junior certificate One college offers a
two-year post Cambridge JUnior Secondary Teachers Certificate course Meanwhile, the faculty of education at the University of Botswana, Lesotho, and Swazilandare charged with the education of secondary school teachers
In Cameroon, the teacher training colleges are run by the MInistry of National Education These training institutions offer training for teachers at the grade 1 and 2 levels, and graduates teach primarily at the elementary schools The Ministry of Higher Education on the other hand, coordinates the activities of the advanced teachers training Institutions In these Institutions there are two kinds of programmes One produces graduates for the technical secondary scnools, and the other for the secondary grammar schools Within the advanced teachers training colleges, there are two cycles Those who leave from the first cycle teachInthe teacher training colleges, and those who graduate from the second cycle teach In the secondary grammar or technical schools Entry Into the first cycle requires a minimum of two GCE advanced level papers, while the second cycle requires a minimum quahtrcauon a BA or SSC In any field Part of government's strategy IS to retrain unemployed degree holders form the classical faculties of the University of Yaounde
Despite the laudable efforts earned out by the vast majority of African countries to Implement teacher training programmes,Coombs (1985) observes a number of problems stili plagUing the curricula of these countries (I) the obsolescence of the old curriculum content In relation to the advanonq state of knowledge and thereahsnclearning needs of the students,In not given careful consideration, (II) another problem IS the misfit between education and the development needs of sooety In some African statesIngeneral and the Islarmc states In particular, a heavyweight of traditional attitudes, rehqious customs and discriminatory practices among the sexes have blocked some members of society from making optimum use of education for national development, and (III) the use of Imported educational research, designed to serve a different society
In the light of the above problems, most African teachers training institutions require substantive changes and Innovations In their programmes They also need a fresh approach that would adapt them to the evolvmq demands of a much larger and diversmed group of learners
The aspect of quality means bnnglng about an effective teacher training programme wherewe have a broad understanding of what IS proposed and how It must be earned out, so that It enJoys a supportive consensus of allInvolved (teachers, students, Inspectors and administrators) Also, the production of teacher manuals, textbooks and other appropriate teaching materials and aids, require a major teacher training effort
Other speonc Innovative strategies suggested by ACO are that the teacher tramlng programme should be organrsed Into three phases (a) a foundation phase, (b) a laboratory phase, and (c)a pracncurn phase These three key phases proposed have five major
acnvmes that must dominate teacher education They are (I) demonstration of mastery of baSIC knowledge prerequisrte to the development of Instructional and non-mstrucnonal competencies, (II) demonstration of Instructional and Interpersonal competencies under Simulated classroom conditions. (III) demonstration of mstrucnon/non-nstructron and Interpersonal competencies In actual classroom situations, (IV) demonstration that all knowledge, competencies and abilities required of thecareerteacherbe Integrated Into unique and personally relevant teachmg styles And If we may add a fifth, (v) demonstration that teachers are able to devise their own technology appropnate to their learning situations To achieve thiS, they not only need their own well-trained cadre of creative technologists, but also a critical mass of baSIC SCientists With a supportive structure of research faohnes to spur and gUide the development of locally relevant technologies
New Rural Learning Needs
As was mdicated earlier, the vast majority of the African reside
In the rural areas Teacher training colleges must therefore do something to meet the speoal needs of the rural masses In fact, the SItuation IS socntrcalthat Coombs descnbesItas "semi-and education deserts devoid of quality education" (p 124) Not only do rural areas
get
the least qualified teachers, but they also have a high proportion of learners With the weakest family support, remarks Coombs And to make a bad Situation worse, rural children In tribal and ethruc areas are often obliged to cope With both an unfamiliar content and foreign language, sometimes a language which even the teachers do not qurte master To combat these pedaqoqicproblems, we recommend.among others, the use ofradroand television for Instruction
Such a bold venture IS reported by Coombs of Tanzania's unorthodox method of meeting the needs of rural masses as well as mcreasmq the number of teaching staff In the report, Coombs states that In 1974 a deosion was taken at the highest level to achieve universal pnmary education by the end of 1977 In order to attain this goal, an unusual approach had to be employed because traditionally the Tanzanian 25 colleges of national education usually had an annual turnout of 5,000 teachers, Instead of the projected 45,000 additional teachers The cost to be Incurred was qomq to be enormous
The strategy employed raised many eyebrows, because there was a clear trade off of quality for quantity, and this appears to bethe main cntiosm of this venture Largenumbers of pnmary schoolleavers were recruited and trained by experienced teachers and tutors In addition they established correspondent courses as well as the radro to deliver Instruction While receivIng this training, the trainee teachers were teachmg for a meagre salary At the end of two years, an examination was given to the trainees and upon successful completion, they received an Income three times their probational salary, and were upgraded to the status of Grade C teachers In this way some 45,000 new teachers were tramed by 1979, and the evidence shows that Tanzania was now able to achieve a gross enrolment rate of 100% However unorthodox thrs approach may sound, other African countries could use this scheme With modifications
Another need peculiar to the rural masses which teacher training colleges must address, ISthe barrage of new learning Imperatives facing youngsters who have rruqreted to the ones where the lifestyle and sooo-econorrucenvironmentISmuch different from the rural First of all, their survival needs Include such baSIC things as nutrition, household Improvement, employment and literacy In the health related domain for example, they must be taught good practices In nutntron, safe water measures, samtanon, famIly plannIng, child and maternal care, and personal hygiene Second, the youths need to be given literary skills through adult education programmes to enable them look for Jobs that match their limited skills, and maybe even help them obtain unskilled Jobs Thirdly, these functional literacy skills would help them parnopate en CIVIC acnvmes such as haVing an awareness of government structures, the right and obligations of the Citizen and an understanding of the need to contribute positively In
the community