Teachers Productivity in Nigerian Primary Schools: A Critical Analysis in The 21st Century

Teacher productivity is a nagging issue in education. The teacher – as the most important factor in the business of teaching and learning – shapes the direction and influences, to a great extent, other educational inputs to achieve the stated goals of the education industry. All over the globe today, we have continued to see National Development being intricately tied to educational development – and the teacher is the critical element. Many countries of the world have realised this critical role of teachers in the educational process, and have started investing hugely on the teacher and fine-tuning his/her skills and potentials in order to meet up the country\u27s development needs in the 21st century. Countries like Luxembourg, Finland and Singapore are lining up powerful opportunities and creating incentives in a verge to enhance teachers\u27 productivity and foster quality education in classrooms. The education situation in Nigeria has not shown a clear or linear upward progression. Evidence abounds as to the establishment of functional teachers training institutions, improved salaries and incentives, reformed agenda, padded education policies and maybe, curriculum revisions. The evidence of the positive impact of all these efforts do not seem to be significant. The problem of Nigerian education and the recent discovery of acclaimed graduates who cannot spell or recite the alphabets is traceable to poor primary foundation. Successful efforts from the foundation will reflect on all stages of the educational system. This research, therefore, reviews past and present efforts of the government and other stakeholders aimed at improving the productivity of teachers in Nigerian primary schools. It also discusses some solutions to Nigeria\u27s educational malaise – whilst also highlighting recommendations about how Nigeria could boost the productivities of teachers in her primary schools