The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), has urged President Bola Tinubu to priotise teacher’s values and welfare to make the profession more attractive for younger generation.

The National President of NUT, Audu Amba, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He urged the government to make teacher a model and recognise the teaching profession as a pillar of societal advancement.

Amba frowned at the current situation where teaching is made a “Hobson’s choice” among admission and job seekers– an option not because it’s your preferred choice, but because it’s the only option available after others have been filled.

He said deliberate policies should be made to place teacher’s seat in frontal rows of other professions and teaching profession a preferred choice for youths.

Amba said many students had little or no passion for teaching profession and this was most demonstrated when a candidate scores low marks in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

According to him, when a candidate scores below the cut-off marks of first and second choice courses, he or she is often compelled to study education in other not to lose admission for the year.