Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) says it has commenced verification of compliance of teachers’ registration in all the states of the federation and FCT after the expiration of the Dec. 31, 2019 deadline.
Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, the Registrar of the council, made this known in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ajiboye said that the exercise was, however, put on hold in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States due to the security challenges in the areas.
According to him, the TRCN monitoring team in each state will be led by a Professor of Education or a Provost of a College of Education.
“The first leg of the exercise will start on March 9 and end on March 17.
“However, this exercise will be a continuous one as TRCN has created a Compliance and Enforcement Unit at its head office for routine monitoring.
“Prior to the commencement of the monitoring, a technical team was set up by TRCN and a meeting was held with all the state coordinators where issues of logistics were discussed and harmonised,” he said.
The registrar, however, cautioned some states making TRCN certificate optional in their recruitment of teachers.
He called on those involved to stop the act, saying that it was mandatory for anyone who wants to profit from the job of a teacher to be registered with the regulatory authority.
“It is therefore considered absurd for any state to say ‘TRCN Certificate will be an added advantage’ whereas that is supposed to be the number one criterion which is the global best practice.
“There is no serious nation that allows just anybody into its classrooms to teach their children. There must be evidence of professional certification to practice as a teacher,’’ he said.
