TRCN to begin enforcement of Professional Qualifying Examinations mid-February

The Registrar, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, says the council will begin enforcement of compliance of the mandatory Professional Qualifying Examinations (PQE) for teachers by mid February.

Ajiboye disclosed this at a meeting with state Coordinators and Technical Committee on Instruments for Monitoring of Disengagement of Unqualified Teachers in the country in Abuja on Thursday.

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TRCN through the National Council on Education (NCE) made a move on the compulsory PQE as Dec. 31, 2019 was set as deadline for unqualified teachers to be weeded out of the sector.

This is in a bid to sanitise the school system and rid the nation’s education sector especially the basic and secondary schools of quacks and unprofessional teachers in the system.

Ajiboye called on private schools to regularise their functions as the council would be coming hard on those who failed to comply with its directives.

“We are beaming our searchlight on private schools because we know that about 83 per cent of teachers in public schools is registered.

“We are going to focus on the private schools when we start our enforcement by the middle of February, TRCN will be going round the country for the enforcement of the compliance,” he said.

He said that technical committee had been set up to swing into action noting that names of registered teachers had been computed which would serve as a guide during enforcement process.

Ajiboye also explained that the monitoring exercise was not in any way to retrench anybody but for them to get registered to be able to practice freely.

On the challenge of inadequate teachers to man classrooms if unqualified teachers were eventually shown the way out, Ajiboye said tertiary institutions were turning out many graduates with education background which should be employed after their youth service.

“We have set up a technical team at the national level but they will led by TRCN state coordinators to enhance what we do and add credibility to our activities.

“After this meeting, we are going to move into action for enforcement. I am looking forward to a Nigeria where nobody will be compelled to obtain qualifying examinations.

“We believe very strongly that new graduates who have education qualification and are looking for jobs can be employed.

“We are not saying that they should retrench people but what we are saying is that this current people that are there looking for job and qualified should be engaged,” he said.

Ajiboye further noted that the idea was also to encourage states to remediate by going to another state with surplus teachers and engage them to teach in their states.

(NAN)