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Tag: Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN)

  • Fed Govt: no TRCN certificate, no teaching job

    Fed Govt: no TRCN certificate, no teaching job

    The Federal Government has said no teacher will be allowed to stand before a classroom without proper registration and licensing by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN). 

    The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced this in a statement yesterday in Abuja by the ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade.

    He said: “This ensures that every child is taught by competent, professional teachers who meet the highest standards.”

    The minister explained that both the TRCN and the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) now have new operational guidelines to enhance governance, oversight, and accountability.

    “Key provisions for TRCN include mandatory teacher registration and licensing, digital integration with the national Education Management Information System, and strict enforcement of ethics and discipline within the profession. “The NTI, on its part, will serve as the national implementing body for distance-based teacher training programmes, while ensuring its courses align with approved standards and frameworks,” the statement said.

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    Alausa described the reform as “a big day for the Nigerian child,” insisting that the restructuring would sustain ongoing progress in teacher quality and educational outcomes.

    He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to embedding professionalism in teaching, expanding access to continuous professional development, and enforcing compliance across all levels of education.

    “This reform is about results and sustainability. It is about building a future where Nigerian children are taught by the best, prepared for the best, and supported by the best.

    “We are consolidating progress to ensure sustainability, capability, and accountability in our teaching workforce. It is Renewed Hope in action.

    “The Federal Ministry of Education assured Nigerians that it will continue to monitor implementation closely while working with states, private proprietors, and other stakeholders to deliver on this mandate. This is Renewed Hope in Action in the education sector,” Alausa added.

  • TRCN, GMIND AI to rollout lesson platform for 1.5mlicensed educators

    TRCN, GMIND AI to rollout lesson platform for 1.5mlicensed educators

    The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has partnered with GMIND AI to develop an artificial intelligence-powered platform that will deliver contextualised and simulated lesson plans for classrooms.

    The platform is open to 1.5m licensed educators.

    The platform will offer two categories of resources: AI-generated lesson plans with simulations for digitally skilled teachers and prescriptive, ready-to-use lesson plans for teachers with limited ICT skills, ensuring no one is left behind.

    Speaking during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), TRCN Registrar, Dr. Ronke Soyombo, said the initiative would revolutionise lesson preparation and improve teaching quality across the country.

    She disclosed that the platform will officially launch on October 6, preceded by the unveiling of TRCN’s new website on August 25, which will include multilingual video guides.

    Soyombo added that a nationwide training sessions will follow, targeting teachers in the six geopolitical zones.

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    The TRCN chief stated: “We want AI-generated lesson plans that are contextualised for our children. Every lesson will also be simulated, because 21st-century learners need to see and experience concepts for learning to be profound.”

    She noted that unlike generic platforms, the TRCN-GMIND system will integrate Nigerian history, culture, and realities into lessons.

    The TRCN boss said: “Our children can still learn about the Victorians, but they must also learn about the Ife and Benin Kingdoms in the same breath.”

    According to Soyombo, the resource bank will cover all subjects and be accessible online, through state TRCN offices, and in downloadable formats.

    The system, she said, will also differentiate lesson content to cater for gifted, average, and less able learners, with a focus on practical, hands-on activities.

  • Improving teachers’ image (5)

    This is the last of my series on “Improving teachers’ image” and I will be discussing regulations ethics/code of conduct for the teaching profession.  As noted when I began writing some six weeks ago, this series was inspired by the NEDIS Education Innovation Summit 2019 held last month in Lagos, in which I featured as plenary speaker on the topic: “Improving the image of the Teaching Profession: A Session with the Media”.

    After sorting out the problem of teacher training, improving the teaching and learning environment by rehabilitating school facilities and providing relevant resources, paying teachers livable wages, and fixing the attitudes of teachers, then the system must provide the cement to hold everything together – a framework that guide how teachers practice the profession that details what is acceptable and what is not.  This framework should also spell sanctions for going against the ethics of the profession.  The common professional misconducts that occur in the education system include aiding examination malpractice, sexual abuse, and extortion.

    At the summit, I said beyond registration and assessment of professional teachers, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) should not just bark, but be able to bite – sanction erring teachers by withdrawing their licenses if caught committing the offences mentioned above and more.

    I did not know then that the TRCN Act even made provision for a Teachers’ Investigation Panel (TIP) to investigate acts of misconduct against teachers at all levels. I stumbled on the surprising find while surfing the net for more details about the council.

    The bit about TIP on the TRCN website (http://trcn.gov.ng/file/Introducing%20TRCN.pdf) reads:  “TEACHERS INVESTIGATING PANEL (TIP): In 2007, TRCN rolled out the drums again as the State Chief Judges installed members of the Teachers Investigation Panel for every state of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory. It was historic. Thereafter, the TIP of the various states and FCT have been inducted unto their jobs and have started their responsibilities in earnest.

    The TRCN Act has given every state the opportunity to appreciate that the TIP is to work for the good of the Education system of their states. Consequently, the TIPs are simply the nominees of their states and cannot perform any magic if the stakeholders of the states do not see the reason for their existence. Yes, the TIPs are federal panels by nature but they are also established for the good of the states. It therefore must take the active support and partnership of TRCN and the states for the TIPs to succeed. The law is clear about the role of the TIPs. They are to investigate allegations/cases of professional misconduct against registered teachers so as to report significant cases to the Teachers Tribunal for prosecution.

    The law further holds the heads of educational institutions liable for any failure to bring cases of professional misconduct, negligence or incompetence to the TIP. This is the most critical issue concerning Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Provosts, Deans of Faculties of Education, ANCOPSS and COPSHON, etc in the present dispensation. However, as good citizens, everyone (teachers, parents, students, media and the general public) is also expected to report the necessary cases professional misconduct, incompetence or negligence by registered teachers to the TIPs.”

    I doubt many teachers, not to talk of members of the public, know about TIP.  Obviously, the law is ineffective.  The government should do a review to make this law more effective.  If teachers, like doctors, are aware that their unwholesome conduct could bar them from the classroom, they would be more careful about sharing ‘expo’ or collecting money from parents to improve their children’s grades, or sexually assaulting their students or anyone at all.

  • Teachers sacked by terrorist in North-East back to classrooms – TRCN

    The Registrar, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Professor Segun Ajiboye Ajiboye has disclosed that some of the school teachers who were sacked by terrorists in the north-eastern part of the country are back to classroom.
    He said that the Council had commenced the process of bringing back to the classrooms, teachers who have deserted the northeast zone due to terrorism attacks.
    Speaking with newsmen in Ibadan, he said that the plan was to re-motivate and change the psyche of the traumatised teachers to return to school.
    According to him, some of the teachers lost their certificates to terrorism but have been restored by the intervention of the Council.
    The TRCN boss disclosed that bringing back the teachers would improve knowledge impartation on students in North-eastern part of the country.
    “Actually it is disheartening we are affected we can’t pretend. We have lost so many teachers to insecurity especially in the northeast. It created trauma. Pupils left the schools. They don’t want to come.
    “The teachers themselves left because of what has happened to their colleagues. What we are doing is to bring back our teachers especially in the northeast. A lot of interventions are going on to re-motivate the teachers and change their psyche.
    “So many of them left the teaching profession they don’t want to come back but now sanity is returning and our teachers are coming back. Some of them lost their certificates to insurgency”, he said.
    On the deadline to register as professional teacher, Ajiboye disclosed that full enforcement against unregistered and unlicensed teachers would begin in January 2020, adding that any teacher not registered by the Council by December 31, 2019 will not be allowed to practice anymore in Nigeria.
    He said letter of reminder was being written to Commissioners of Education and the Education Secretary in Federal Capital Territory on the need to ensure that practising teachers in their states get valid license before the deadline.
    “That deadline stands. In fact the Minister of Education has directed that TRCN should do a letter to Commissioners of Education and Education secretary in the FCT to remind them about the deadline. By December 2019 anyone not registered and licensed by TRCN may not allowed in our classrooms. by January 2020 enforcement will begin”, he declared.
  • 51 Lagos teachers fail professional exam, says TRCN

    51 Lagos teachers fail professional exam, says TRCN

    No fewer than 51 teachers failed the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) conducted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) in Lagos State.

    Mr Gbolahan Enilolobo, the state coordinator of the council, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos that 412 teachers sat for the maiden edition of the examination.

    Enilolobo said the failure of the teachers was mainly because they were not conversant with the use of the computer.

    According to him, many of them are not digital compliant.

    NAN reports that the TRCN had on Oct. 14 conducted the examination for the teachers, through Computer Based Test (CBT).

    The examination was to qualify the successful teachers to register as professionals and be licensed with the council.

    According to Enilolobo, the unsuccessful teachers will have to re-register for the examination, and after three consecutive failures, they will be disqualified.

    “The failure of the teachers is due to their inability to use the computer; especially as it the first time they are using CBT for the examination.

    “About three of the teachers exited without even completing the examination, indicating their being unfamiliar with the system at all.

    “Those that failed will have to re-sit the examination.

    “But if failure occurs consecutively for three times, it means automatic disqualification, and such teacher cannot be licensed,’’ he said.

    Giving statistics of the teachers in attendance, Enilolobo said one Ph.D holder, 30 Masters degree holders, 282 First degree and 99 holders of National Certificate of Education sat for the examination.

    Professional Qualifying Examination results statistics for Lagos State

    He said that nine teachers out of 30 the master’s degree holders that sat for the examination failed.

    According to him, 257 out of the 282 first degree holder passed, while 82 passed out of the 99 NCE holders.

    “The only PhD teacher also passed the examination.’’

    The coordinator said the teachers were the first set to write the examination and they were a bit disadvantaged because there were no past questions to enable them familiarise with the national benchmark of the examination.

    “Teachers should align themselves with computer so as to reduce the number of failures, and materials can be gotten from bookshops,” Enilolobo advised.

  • Education graduates to undergo one year internship soon – FG

    Education graduates to undergo one year internship soon – FG

    The Federal Government ( FG ) would soon start a one year internship programme for education graduates to improve teaching quality in the country.

    Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, Registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria ( TRCN ) disclosed this during a meeting with stakeholders from the North Central zone in Abuja on Tuesday.

    Ajiboye said this was part of the proposals put forwards at the special Federal Executive Council meeting on education on Monday.

    “Part of the things we are trying to look at in the Federal Ministry of Education, which the minister is proposing, is that we are going to have a one year internship programme for teachers.

    “If you can have houseman ship for medical doctors, why not a one year internship programme for would-be teachers.

    “So when they finish from the internship programmes they can be registered as professional teachers.

    “Also, there is a proposal to reintroduce bursary award for those who are reading education courses in colleges of education and the universities to make sure we are able to attract best brains to teaching profession.

    “The minister is also trying to propose that those who have education degree instead of starting them on grade level 8, they should be started on grade level 9 to make the job competitive and make the teachers feel confident about their profession.

    Ajiboye said that the national assembly was amending the name of the council to encapsulate its mandate of regulation.

    He said the council’s name may be changed to “Teachers Regulatory Council of Nigeria.’’

    NAN

  • Few private schools have complied with teachers’ registration – TRCN

    Few private schools have complied with teachers’ registration – TRCN

    The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria ( TRCN ), said on Wednesday that only 50 per cent of private schools in the country have complied with its directive to deploy only professional teachers to classrooms.

    Malam Adamu Bello, the Deputy Director, Professional Operation of the council made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Wednesday.

    Adamu said the council would continue to enforce the directive until all teachers get the mandatory certification to teach in schools across the country.

    He stressed that the 2017 deadline for all categories of teachers in the country to obtain the required professional qualification remain sacrosanct.

    The official disclosed that TRCN would prosecute unqualified and incompetent teachers nationwide as from 2018.

    “Very soon, those people that think it is a joke for the 17 years we have been drumming it for them to professionalize, will be arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned.

    “The council will go after them with the full weight of the law even as we seek state governments’ cooperation to rid the country of quack and unqualified teachers,’’ he said.

    Adamu emphasised that the certification programme of the council was necessary for all teachers, irrespective of the type of certificate they possess after their graduation.

    “It is meant to strengthen and upgrade the standard of education as all professionalized teachers will attend periodic re-certification lecture and examination to keep them abreast of modern best practices,’’ he said.

  • NUT national president advocates teachers tribunal

    NUT national president advocates teachers tribunal

    Mr Michael Alogba, the National President, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), has called for the setting up of teachers tribunal to try teachers against unprofessional ethics.

    Alogba made the call on Wednesday in Ibadan at a workshop on Training the Trainers organised by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) for selected teachers in the country.

    Alogba said that the union was not always happy when teachers engaged in unethical behaviours.

    He said that the TUC was more concerned about the standard in teaching, adding, “one cannot give what one does not have’’.

    “We are more concerned about the standard in teaching. There should be no room for quarks in the teaching profession.

    “This is because quacks will go into the classroom, damage the pupils and possibly make them more confused than they were before, it is the responsibility of the NUT to ensure this does not happen,” he said.

    The NUT president, however, commended the Buhari administration in the restructuring of the education sector.

    He said that the union was more than ready to partner with the TRCN to move the teaching profession in Nigeria to a place of Eldorado.

    He said that the move by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, and the TRCN in terms of professionalism in the teaching profession “is a right step in the right direction’’.

    “This move of making teaching to a professional standard will bring about change in attitude and will improve the quality of education in the country,” he said.

  • Teachers to earn higher salaries than other workers -FG

    Teachers to earn higher salaries than other workers -FG

    The Federal Government Thursday said it is working on plans to ensure that teachers are paid salaries higher than other workers in Nigeria.

    The government said increase in the salaries of teachers would help to attract the best to the teaching profession.

    Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, disclosed this at the inauguration of Governing Councils of 21 Federal Colleges of Education.

    Adamu, who was represented by Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwukah, said the teaching profession had ceased to be “all-comers affairs.”

    He warned that teachers in Nigeria across all levels must register with the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) before the end of this year or risk being sent out of classrooms.

    Adamu said government has under studied Malaysia and came to realisation that the country got it right by first taking a critical look at teaching and teacher education.

    He noted that Malaysia in the quest for greatness had brought down its education sector and reorganised it for effective development of human resource in order to get to where the country is today.

    The minister said to start with, teachers in Malaysia were paid higher than other workers and that the federal government felt it was expedient to extrapolate that for implementation in Nigeria.

    He said: “What did they do? They brought the whole system down and ask what do you want us to do in education. Their planning was geared towards the development of human resources. In Malaysia, top percent of those who scored the highest in their equivalent of JAMB compete to be teachers.

    “If you are a teacher in Malaysia, you are to ranked than any other worker in the country. This is why you will find people with PhDs teaching in primary schools. Teachers are paid higher than any other person in Malaysia and we have made that recommendation and we are going to do that in Nigeria,” he said.

    Adamu, also lamented the dearth of quality teachers Nigeria, saying it was unfortunate that the noble call had not been able to attract the best and the brightest because of inadequacies in the system.

    He insisted that the current administration was ready to get it right with the cooperation of all stakeholders.

    He added that colleges of education have remained critical institutions‎ because they do not only produce teachers on which everything else is dependent, they also produce teachers at the basic level of education.

    He reminded members of the Governing Councils of the enormous task ahead of them saying their appointments, though part-time in nature, have come at a time when the country is recovering from recession and that the institutions have been without Governing Councils since 2015.

    Adamu, therefore, challenged the Governing Councils to come with policy direction that would assist in the effort to strengthen the quality of teachers produce by the institutions as well as how to generate funding for their various institutions.

    He urged them to avoid friction with the management of the colleges, saying there must be clear distinction between the management role of the institutions and the powers of the Governing Councils to enunciate policies and provide needed fillip for the implementation of those policies.

     

  • Professional qualifying examination for qualified teachers begins in October – TRCN

    Professional qualifying examination for qualified teachers begins in October – TRCN

    The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) says the mandatory Professional Qualifying Examination(PQE) for qualified teachers who want to register with the council is scheduled to commence in October.

    Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, the Registrar, TRCN made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
    Ajiboye added that all unqualified teachers would not be allowed into the classrooms by the end of 2017.

    “The teachers Registration Council of Nigeria has come out with a policy decision which is backed and supported by the Federal Ministry of Education.

    “The ministry has approved that the regular registration without qualifying examination should stop by the 31st of May 2017 and the first professional qualifying examination will take place in October 2017.

    “We are going to stop just normal registration of qualified teachers without examination by the end of this month.

    “We have done advertisement in Nigeria newspapers and have sensitised teachers to this that definitely by the end of this month we will stop normal registration.

    “Any teacher who is qualified who now wants to register as a professional teacher in Nigeria will have to take professional qualifying examination.

    “For teachers who are not qualified the government policy is that we will no longer allow unqualified teachers to be in our classrooms at the end of 2017.

    “These teachers have been given enough time to go remediate for this lack of qualification by taking professional diploma in education or post graduate diploma in education as the case maybe.

    “Those teachers that are not qualified poses a great danger to the Nigerian educational system and because of that we want to wipe off all quacks and the act of quackery from teaching in Nigeria.

    “So any teacher that is not qualified will no longer be found in Nigerian classrooms from 2018,’’ he said.

    Ajiboye said the council was ready for the exercise in terms of manpower having opened offices across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
    He said the forms for the examination would soon become available for the various categories of teachers.

    He added that the Federal Government would strengthen the council to enable it to cope with the demands of the registration.

    Speaking on the issue of unqualified teachers in private schools in the country, Ajiboye said the council and the leadership of the proprietors of private schools in the country were in talks.

    “We informed them that we found out that a large number of unqualified teachers are teaching in our private schools and we want a situation where this is reversed.

    “As private providers they are supposed to be leading examples by employing qualified teachers.

    “We had a fruitful discussion with the leadership and it is still ongoing,’’ he stated.