A Historical Perspective of Teacher Education in Rivers State of Nigeria: 1967-1998

Abstract

Teacher education is an essential component of the educational system because teachers, among others, help to develop human capacity and implement educational policies for the realization of the nation’s objectives and goals. The development of teacher education in Rivers State, a chip of the then Eastern Nigeria that was created on 27th May, 1967 with a myriad of challenges, contributes to data on the subject in Nigeria and explains how these challenges were surmounted. From a gradual development of three Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) for primary school teachers, tertiary institutions were established to produce non-graduate and graduate teachers for secondary schools, undergraduate and post graduate teacher education. Sandwich, in-service and long-distance programmes boosted teacher education in the State. The Universal Primary Education (UPE), insistence on certification for employment in the system, and attainment of the national minimum qualification of Nigeria certificate in Education for teaching were some major factors that stimulated and sustained teacher education development between 1967 and 1998 in Rivers State.