Teachers’ council unveils new qualification standards

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The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, TRCN, has said it is determined to tackle the rot in the teaching profession especially as it regards poor quality of teachers.

This was made known at the unveiling of teachers’ Professional Qualifying Examination Benchmarks that would guide in the registration of teachers in Abuja.

The registrar of TRCN, Mark Wokocha, who presented the document said the council would continue to pursue its mandate with zeal to see that the teaching profession in Nigeria regained its lost glory by weeding all unqualified teachers.

He said the council has put in a huge effort including sensitizing Nigerians about the dangers of engaging unqualified and unregistered teachers.

“TRCN is tackling the rot in the profession from all angles, dimensions, and a huge effort has gone into sensitising the nation about the dangers of using unqualified and unregistered teachers,” he said

He added that it would yield positive results in terms of the successful registration of over a million teachers and the on-going licensing of registered teachers.

Also speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Education, Viola Onwuliri, said the present administration had identified the teacher as a top input that determines educational standard in Nigeria.

She noted that in the past, individuals were registered as professional teachers merely upon the presentation and scrutiny of credentials they have received from the teacher education institutions.

She added that it was a very well-known fact that the teacher was top among the inputs that determine educational standards and how far the country can go in actualising its educational goals and aspirations.

“Therefore, every step taken to strengthen the quality of teachers and to enhance public confidence in the teacher is quite a significant development,” she said.

She added that with the benchmarks individual teachers would now be able to additionally pass the requisite examinations which would help determine their suitability for registration.

She said it was a quality assurance measure which meant that the screening for professional competence would not end at the point of exit from the teacher education institutions.

The Chairman TRCN Governing Board, Greg Iwu, who also spoke at the event said that the board was confident that the public presentation of the PQE Benchmark would boost the quality of teachers in the country.

He added that the board was confident that the PQE would encourage teachers to be on their toes and understand they must be accountable and transparent in the demonstration of their knowledge and skills throughout their career.

Mr. Iwu said TRCN would continue to partner with employers of teachers to continuously evaluate their developmental needs with the view to providing appropriate on-going professional development programmes.