A Nigerian education scholar based in the United States has raised concerns over what she describes as a widening disconnect between teacher training and the realities of modern learning environments, warning that the country’s education system is still preparing teachers for classrooms that increasingly no longer exist.
Speaking on the future of teacher education in Nigeria, curriculum expert and Frederick N. Andrews Fellow at Purdue University, Christabel Anumenechi, argued that while education has expanded into displacement camps, conflict-ridden communities, correctional centres, and other unconventional spaces, teacher preparation programmes have remained largely unchanged.
According to her, Nigerian institutions continue to train educators for traditional classrooms with stable learning conditions, despite growing evidence that millions of learners now receive education under circumstances far removed from conventional school settings.
“Nigeria continues to prepare teachers for a system that assumes stable classrooms and predictable learning conditions,” Anumenechi said, noting that the country risks producing graduates who are ill-equipped to respond to emerging educational realities.
The scholar pointed to the increasing number of internally displaced children across the country, many of whom have limited access to formal education. She explained that in several displacement camps, learning takes place in overcrowded shelters with inadequate teaching materials and severe shortages of qualified instructors.
“In some camps, access to education is nearly nonexistent, with reports indicating that almost 70 per cent of school-aged children lack access to formal learning,” she stated.
Beyond access, Anumenechi stressed that the challenge also lies in the absence of a workforce specifically trained to teach in crisis situations. She explained that many individuals providing instruction in such settings often lack professional teacher education because the system has not developed pathways for preparing educators to work under those conditions.
“The problem is not only access to education but also the absence of a workforce adequately prepared to deliver it effectively,” she said.
She further observed that teaching in emergency and conflict-affected communities demands far more than mastery of subject content. According to her, educators must possess adaptability, emotional intelligence, ethical judgment, and the capacity to manage learners with disrupted educational backgrounds and trauma-related challenges.
“In many crisis-affected settings, teaching does not resemble the structured classroom model for which most educators are trained,” she explained.
Anumenechi also highlighted the technological and infrastructural challenges confronting educators in underserved communities, noting that many teachers operate without reliable internet connectivity, electricity, or digital tools. These realities, she said, require specialised training approaches that prepare teachers to deliver meaningful instruction under resource-constrained conditions.
The scholar expressed concern that a similar neglect exists within Nigeria’s correctional education system, where educational programmes remain underdeveloped despite their proven value in rehabilitation and social reintegration.
“Education in Nigerian prisons remains underdeveloped, despite growing recognition of its role in rehabilitation,” she noted, adding that teachers working in correctional facilities face unique institutional and psychological challenges that are rarely addressed in teacher preparation curricula.
Anumenechi criticised the continued emphasis on conventional teaching practice placements in schools alone, arguing that Colleges of Education and university faculties of education must broaden the scope of professional training to include exposure to community-based learning centres, displacement camps, and correctional institutions.
“From Colleges of Education to university-based programmes, pre-service teachers are still largely prepared for conventional classrooms,” she said.
She warned that the consequences of maintaining outdated teacher preparation models could be severe, particularly as insecurity, displacement, and social disruptions continue to reshape educational delivery across Nigeria.
“The result is a growing disconnect between where teachers are prepared to teach and where education is actually happening,” Anumenechi stated.
Questioning the sustainability of current policies, she asked how Nigeria intends to provide quality education in displacement camps and correctional facilities without adequately trained educators.
“How can the system sustain education in displacement settings without a prepared teaching workforce? How can correctional education achieve its rehabilitative goals without instructors trained for its unique demands?” she queried.
Drawing lessons from international experiences, including developments in the United States, Anumenechi noted that even countries with more advanced educational systems continue to grapple with staffing shortages in non-traditional learning environments. However, she maintained that Nigeria’s challenge is more urgent due to the scale of educational disruption facing the country.
“Education has already moved beyond the classroom. What has not changed is how teachers are prepared,” she emphasised.
The scholar therefore called for comprehensive reforms that would redesign teacher education curricula, expand teaching practice opportunities beyond traditional schools, and equip future educators with the flexibility, problem-solving skills, and resilience needed to succeed in diverse learning environments.
“Nigeria cannot expand education successfully while limiting how it prepares those expected to deliver it,” she warned.
She concluded that unless urgent reforms are undertaken, the country will continue producing teachers trained for only a fraction of the environments where learning is now taking place, leaving some of the nation’s most vulnerable learners without the quality education they deserve.
