Teacher Education and Development in Nigeria: An Analysis of Reforms, Challenges and Prospects

Although teacher education, both pre-and in-service, programs are offered in Nigeria by different teacher education institutions (as provided in the National Policy on Education), and varying degrees of success recorded, various problems still confront the program with far reaching consequences in Nigeria’s educational system. This paper talks about the need for teacher education, the ideal teacher education, teacher education and national development, analyses the historical contexts of the teacher education reforms and development in Nigeria with emphasis on the roles of the Christian missions, the colonial administration and that of the Nigerian government after independence. It examines key recommendations of two commissions (Phelps Stokes and Ashby) and their implications to the reform and development of teacher education in Nigeria both during colonial era and after independence. The paper further discusses the influence of these and other reforms in shaping teacher education in Nigeria, the challenges still facing it, and finally suggests solutions and a holistic approach to better the lots of teacher education in Nigeria.


In Nigeria, like many other developing countries in the world, teaching is the most vital and strategic profession for national development. This is so because teaching is that important activity which makes possible the acquisition of knowledge and skills that brings about the mark of an educated and useful person in the society. Education remains a single major factor for national development. The teacher is central in this enterprise, and no tool has been able to replace the teacher yet; this is because no educational system can rise above its teachers. The teacher holds the remedy to the many problems ravaging Nigeria. The teacher’s efficiency matters in these regards. The central purpose of teacher education according to the NPE is to provide teachers with the intellectual and professional background for their assignment. Notwithstanding the laudable objectives and efforts made by various administration of Nigerian government, this paper concludes that although various Nigerian governments did a lot to improve the system, teacher education programs in Nigerian higher institutions are largely lacking in quality neither do they conform to international standards. This situation is mainly because of the governments’ inability to keep up their commitments in the education sector in a way that answers to the needs and the changing (socio-economic) dynamics of the country, in spite of the long years of the oil booms and the vast amount of foreign exchange earned.