FG Pegs First Class As Benchmark For Engagement Into Teaching

THE federal government said Saturday that only professional
teachers with First Class certificates will be employed beginning
from next year, 2021.

The government which said it would also consider people with 2.1
qualifications, explained that the measure was part of its renewed
efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning in Nigerian
schools.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Arc. Sonny
Echonu made this known during a monitoring exercise of the
Professional Qualifying Examination,PQE, organised by the Teachers
Registration Council of Nigeria,TRCN.

No fewer than 17, 602 teachers from across 34 states and the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT), are expected to participate in the
examinations.

Addressing newsmen, Echono who stressed that the decision was
aimed at having only the best brains in Nigerian classrooms as
teachers, insists that as from 2021, only qualified teachers would
be allowed to teach in the country.

According to him, a national implementation committee would be
inaugurated in the coming week to ensure federal government’s
agenda on teachers registration and revitalisation was achieved,
especially, the entry qualification for teachers in schools.

In his words: “With effect from next year, we will not admit or
engage people as teachers if they don’t meet a particular
threshold. We are now limiting entry to only the best.

“You must have a first class or 2:1 as minimum and if you have
qualification in other subjects that is not in education, we will
arrange for a conversion programme to be administered by NTI, TRCN
and any university that has faculties of education or this
programme because you also have to learn ways of communicating and
managing students.

“We are migrating teachers who are not qualified or do not have
the requisite qualifications, competency, not licensed or
registered to pseamless.out of our classrooms to make way for
qualified personnel because we want to achieve learning and
teaching and learning occurs in our schools.”

Impressed with the conduct of the PQE, he encouraged teachers
who were yet to sit for the examinations to do so, adding that
government through the TRCN, would continue to conduct the
examinations for teachers.

Registrar/Chief Executive Officer TRCN, Prof Josiah Ajiboye who
disclosed that Nigerians in diaspora have begun to sit for the
examinations via online platforms without necessarily travelling
back to Nigeria, noted that their certificates would be sent across
even as the Council would write to the Teaching Council of
countries where Nigerians were seeking for or engaged in their
education system as teachers.

“There are Nigerians in diaspora who before they can get any
teaching position must show evidence they are professional teachers
and that they are registered with their teaching regulatory
authority before they left the country.

“To provide that evidence you need to write our exams because we
cannot issue you the letter of professional standing without
sitting for TRCN examination and so we have placed the examination
online for Nigerians in the diaspora and the response has been very
huge. We have Nigerians cutting across countries of the world now
writing the examinations.”

Ajiboye who said the low number of candidates sitting for the
present PQE diet could be as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,
revealed that the next PQE would take place around the months of
February and March next year.

“We have promised Nigerians we will have the examination minimum
of twice in a year; that is why we have to go ahead. We have begun
registration for the next diet which is going to come up around
February/ March next year and the figure we are getting is
rising.”

THE federal government said Saturday that only professional
teachers with First Class certificates will be employed beginning
from next year, 2021.

The government which said it would also consider people with 2.1
qualifications, explained that the measure was part of its renewed
efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning in Nigerian
schools.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Arc. Sonny
Echonu made this known during a monitoring exercise of the
Professional Qualifying Examination,PQE, organised by the Teachers
Registration Council of Nigeria,TRCN.

No fewer than 17, 602 teachers from across 34 states and the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT), are expected to participate in the
examinations.

Addressing newsmen, Echono who stressed that the decision was
aimed at having only the best brains in Nigerian classrooms as
teachers, insists that as from 2021, only qualified teachers would
be allowed to teach in the country.

According to him, a national implementation committee would be
inaugurated in the coming week to ensure federal government’s
agenda on teachers registration and revitalisation was achieved,
especially, the entry qualification for teachers in schools.

In his words: “With effect from next year, we will not admit or
engage people as teachers if they don’t meet a particular
threshold. We are now limiting entry to only the best.

“You must have a first class or 2:1 as minimum and if you have
qualification in other subjects that is not in education, we will
arrange for a conversion programme to be administered by NTI, TRCN
and any university that has faculties of education or this
programme because you also have to learn ways of communicating and
managing students.

“We are migrating teachers who are not qualified or do not have
the requisite qualifications, competency, not licensed or
registered to pseamless.out of our classrooms to make way for
qualified personnel because we want to achieve learning and
teaching and learning occurs in our schools.”

Impressed with the conduct of the PQE, he encouraged teachers
who were yet to sit for the examinations to do so, adding that
government through the TRCN, would continue to conduct the
examinations for teachers.

Registrar/Chief Executive Officer TRCN, Prof Josiah Ajiboye who
disclosed that Nigerians in diaspora have begun to sit for the
examinations via online platforms without necessarily travelling
back to Nigeria, noted that their certificates would be sent across
even as the Council would write to the Teaching Council of
countries where Nigerians were seeking for or engaged in their
education system as teachers.

“There are Nigerians in diaspora who before they can get any
teaching position must show evidence they are professional teachers
and that they are registered with their teaching regulatory
authority before they left the country.

“To provide that evidence you need to write our exams because we
cannot issue you the letter of professional standing without
sitting for TRCN examination and so we have placed the examination
online for Nigerians in the diaspora and the response has been very
huge. We have Nigerians cutting across countries of the world now
writing the examinations.”

Ajiboye who said the low number of candidates sitting for the
present PQE diet could be as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,
revealed that the next PQE would take place around the months of
February and March next year.

“We have promised Nigerians we will have the examination minimum
of twice in a year; that is why we have to go ahead. We have begun
registration for the next diet which is going to come up around
February/ March next year and the figure we are getting is
rising.”