By Okeoghene Akubuike
The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), says it will ensure implementation of the December deadline by the National Council on Education for the removal of unqualified teachers from classrooms.
Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, TRCN’s Registrar, said this on Monday in an interview in Abuja.
“The National Council on Education’s position to remove unqualified teachers from classrooms by December 2019 still stands.
“At the level of TRCN, we stand by that position and we are doing everything possible to make sure that it is implemented and we have been sounding it since 2017.
“And that is why we are sensitising those who are yet to be qualified, to make sure that they get qualified.
“We understand that so many of them are running programmes that can lead to the award of Diploma, especially Post Graduate Diploma in Education to make them qualified.
“And now to register with TRCN, they must pass the Professional Qualifying Examination, there are two opportunities this year in 2019, the May diet and October diet.
“So, before the end of 2019 they are opportunities for them to make amends, to make sure they get themselves qualified and registered and licensed by TRCN.
“So, we are still making a clarion call to all those who are in the classroom illegally, to make sure that they rectify the deficiencies and get themselves qualified.
Ajiboye said the council’s monitoring exercise in public and private schools revealed that many schools not only had high number of unqualified teachers, but also shortage in teachers.
“From the monitoring exercise that we did in six states of the federation, one state per each geopolitical zone, it is very obvious that we have a large number of those who are in our classrooms that are not qualified at all, talk less of registering with TRCN.
“We discovered that in some states, there are still a large number of unqualified teachers and the TRCN has made conscious effort to contact such states.
“Not only do they not have qualified teachers, they are largely short of teachers.
“In some schools you have four teachers, others two and this is unacceptable and must be rectified.
“There is no way you can deliver quality education with this high shortage and level of unqualified teachers.
“So, we have sensitised the states concerned to the dangers inherent in having this unqualified teachers and the challenges that we face without having the requisite number of teachers in schools.’’
The TRCN boss said the first phase of the monitoring exercise was carried out in Cross River, Ebonyi, Nasarawa, Ogun, Jigawa and Gombe.
He said the council would continue the exercise this year in other states.(NAN)
