CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The quality of education is directly related to the quality of instruction in the classrooms. It is a fact that the academic qualifications, knowledge of the subject matter, competence, and skills of teaching and the commitment of the teacher have effective impact on the teaching learning process (National Education Policy 1998-2010). Quality improvement in education depends upon proper training of teachers. The teachers cannot play any of the roles unless properly trained (Yadved and Singh, 1988). The performance of students especially in external examinations  goes a long way to show the level of preparedness of the student definitely by qualified teachers.
Teaching is an art. It can be refined by training and practice. The availability of competent teachers is central in the reconstruction of the educational system. Biology has acquired the status of a global language (Crystal, 1997). Keeping in view the growing need and importance of Biology in every walk of life, Biology is made a compulsory subject in Nigeria from the very beginning of the academic career. This increasingly necessitates good quality initial preparation for non-native speaker teachers in the school system (Cullen, 1994).
Biology is taught as a compulsory subject and also the whole teaching learning process is carried out in Biology language. In other words, Biology is also the medium of instruction in Nigerian schools. This enables the students of these schools to learn Biology in an environment where most of the interaction between the teacher and the students is in Biology (Fuller & Clark, 1994). As a result, the students of these schools are more proficient in Biology and perform well in the external examinations.
In some schools, however, the teaching of Biology is done somewhat differently and the proficiency in the language is somewhat inadequate. The traditional grammar translation method is favorite with the teachers and there is hardly any exposure to Biologyinside or outside the class. Most of the activities in the class are done in the vernacular or the mother tongue. Even Biologyis explained through Urdu or the vernaculars (Al-mutawa&Kailani, 1989). The students resort to memorization and cramming.
The teacher is the facilitator of examinations rather than of learning. The students memorize, translate and retranslate and, finally reproduce the crammed information or knowledge in the external examinations. No creativity is witnessed on the part of the students from this kind of teaching experience (Baumgardner, 1993).The reason is that the teachers themselves are not qualified or competent enough to teach Biology efficiently. This causes poor results in Biology eventually leading to highest failure percentage in Biology at external examinations. Thus Biology becomes the biggest hurdle (particularly for the students from rural areas) in the way to getting higher education and the key administrative posts. In its annual report, Federal Public Service Commission (1998) reported that Biology as the medium of expression in the external examination is depriving the students of some poor institutions to compete with their counterparts from highly placed institutions.
Biology as a language plays a number of roles in the socio-economic, political and cultural development of Nigeria society. The continued slide in the performance of students in the Biology in external examinations is a course for great concern not only for the teachers but also for all stake holders in the business of education. This is more worrisome when one considers the fact that Biology doubles as a medium of instruction in Nigerian schools as well as our linquafranca. The central role of Biology cannot, therefore, be wished away. The pattern of failure has, however, shown that the incidence appears to be higher in some schools than it is with other schools. A number of factors have been linked to the courses but more relevant is the issue of qualification of the teachers. This is more important because in the business of teaching and learning, teachers offer only what they have; you cannot offer what you don’t have. The qualification of teachers involved in teaching and learning has great roles in the performance of students and it is to find out these effects that this study is set out to accomplish. Chomsky (1972) “states that one cannot really teach a language but can only present the conditions in which it will develop spontaneously in the mind in its own ways”