“50% of Nigerian teachers not qualified, worse in private schools” says TRCN

As the deadline issued to teachers to get certification expires, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has lamented that more than 50 per cent of those currently teaching in primary and secondary schools nationwide are still not qualified to be in the classroom.

The Registrar and Chief Executive of TRCN, Prof Josiah Ajiboye, said it is worse in private schools.

The newly reappointed Ajiboye said apart from the fact that these so-called teachers, particularly those in private schools are not qualified, they are simply not registerable by the council.

According to him, teachers in this category do not have basic teaching educational qualifications, which is the National Certificate in Education (NCE) as stipulated by the National Policy on Education.

Ajiboye said whoever is to be engaged as a teacher in any school in the country either public or private, must possess a minimum of NCE plus TRCN certificate.

The TRCN chief said the two certificates are mandatory and none is optional for teachers’ recruitment, as evidence has shown that professional teachers perform their duties more committedly.

“So, those without these two certificates are not supposed to get teaching employment, let alone be in the classroom teaching,” he stated.

He said school owners are aware of this policy and wondered why they have continually flouted it, saying this is the standard practice in developed countries and Nigeria cannot be an exception.

Ajiboye alleged that some school owners, especially private-owned, are not complying with the policy as they still engage secondary school leavers as teachers.

He insisted that those who want to continue as teachers or want to come in newly must be professionals, hence must do the needful to be part of the system.

Ajiboye said the council would soon resume its enforcement policy, which started in February 2020 and halted midway due to the COVID-19 pandemic and general lockdown.

“So, we are waiting for the COVID-19 crisis to subside considerably for us to resume the exercise and sanction schools and teachers that are not complying,” he said.

Source: Guardian Nigerian Newspaper