CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Education holds the key to the success of every sector of the economy. This isbecause through education the manpower required for the growth and development of thenation is produced. Education has been recognized as an indispensable factor in thesocial, economic and political advancement of the country. It is seen as the catalyst fornational transformation from a state of underdevelopment through scientific,technological and social changes to a state of development (Onyia, 2011). Theimportance of education for national transformation was aptly captured in the NationalPolicy on Education (FRN). In this document, education is seen as an “instrument perexcellence for national development” (FRN, 2004:7). Thus, effective education mustdevelop individuals with comparative advantage to compete favourably in a globalizedeconomy. This implies that education must prepare individuals for better self-realisation,better human relationships and effective citizenship for national unity and for social,economic and scientific progress.

The achievement of the above will depend on effective implementation of teachereducation programme for the production of quality teachers to drive the educationalprocess. The knowledge, expertise and the ability levels of teachers will determine thequality of the products of the system (Eze, 2013). The National Policy on Education isclear on this by asserting that no educational system can rise above the quality of itsteachers (FRN, 2004). This implies that the quality of the products of an educationalsystem can never rise above the quality of the system that produced it.