Comparative Analysis of Teacher Qualification and Production Performance of Distance and Regular Teacher Education Programmes: Implication for Qualitative Teacher Education in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper compared the qualification and product performance of distance and regular teacher education programmes for the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE). The study was a survey in which all five centers of the distance learning programme of the National Teachers Institute (NTI) in Rivers State and all departments of the Rivers State College of Education (COE) where corresponding courses are offered were sampled. Five subject areas were used for research. Schools where products of the programme are teaching were visited to evaluate the performance of the products or graduates. The results of the research shows that the teachers in NTI programmes are not as qualified and experienced as those in the Regular COE programmes and that graduates or products of regular COE programmes performed better in the classroom than those of the NTI products. It is recommended that the NTI programmes be evaluated regularly to identify areas of need and weakness for prompt adjustment for effective delivery. Also, the quality of teachers’ instruction and administration of the Distance Learning programme needs very close monitoring by the relevant authorities.