The Nigeria Union of Teachers says the Lagos State Government needs additional manpower in all schools to implement the newly introduced specialised mode of teaching.
Adesina Adedoyin, Lagos State NUT Chairman, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Sunday that the introduction of specialised teaching would be beneficial to pupils and teachers.
Adedoyin said specialisation would relieve teachers of the boredom and burden of teaching all subjects at the same time.
According to him, this will also address the challenge of a teacher teaching up to eight subjects a day.
He said: “Specialisation is highly helpful because it will not be business as usual in the classroom.
“It will eradicate the usual jack-of-all-trade, master-of-none syndrome among teachers.
“We have started the experiment of specialisation in all schools.
“We are at the experimental stage.
“The challenges we are still facing now is the issue of manpower and we want the government to employ more teachers to complement the process.
“Specialisation has been structured in a way that when you have a period now, the next period is going to be another teacher, it is not going to be you again.
“It may be after another teacher that a teacher will have another period.
“This is because they look at your subject combination with the mode.”
Explaining further, Adedoyin said a teacher could no longer teach two different subjects back-to-back as was done in the past.
He said: “For instance, if I study Physical Education and Health and I am supposed to teach both subjects in a school, by the time I have done the period for physical education aspect, I will not take the health period immediately.
“I will have to wait till later when it is time to have another period or change of lesson, then I will go back and teach health.
“We have started to experiment that in primary schools.
“All these latest innovations in education still border on manpower.”
Adedoyin said for this to be fully accomplished, more teachers are needed to reduce the workload and large number of pupils in a classroom confronting the schools.
He said: “A teacher will not have to stand in front of the pupils to teach almost all the subjects.
“There is specialisation on the job.
“When somebody is teaching eight periods of different subjects, there is no way memory interference will not come in, there is no way boredom will not set in, there is no way fatigue will not set in.
“Some facts will be lost in the process, coupled with the large number of pupils in a class.”
According to Addedoyin, in the past when one teacher is teaching all subjects, it may be a ratio of 20 pupils to a teacher, at most it is 30 pupils to a teacher, adding: “But now, we are having one teacher to 120 learners or between 80 and 70 pupils in a class.
“The teacher needs to supervise, mark class work, give assignments and write notes for them on various subjects because you cannot adopt lecturing method since they are very young.
“So, in view of all these, the importance of specialised teaching is that it is going to relieve some teachers of the boredom and burden of teaching all subjects together.”
Adedoyin said the union hoped it would be sustained because it was beneficial to its members and urged government to increase manpower for teachers not to be over-burdened.
The union leader also advised teachers to be more dedicated and hardworking.
NAN.