Employment: FG limits teachers entry level to 1st, 2nd class graduates 

Fred Ezeh, Abuja

With the recent approval for better working condition of teachers, Federal Government has announced that entry level into teaching profession has been limited to first and second class graduates.

In addition to that, the government insisted that graduates seeking entry into teaching profession must have been certified by Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, disclosed the information in Abuja, on Saturday, after monitoring the November diet of TRCN Professional Qualification Examination (PQE).

He said: “With effect from next year, we will not admit or engage teachers if they don’t meet a particular threshold. We are now limiting entry into the teaching profession to only the best, meaning that you must either be a first class or second class upper graduate. That’s the minimum we can take because we want the best as teachers.

“Nevertheless, if you have qualification in other subjects that is not in education, we would arrange for a conversion programme to be administered by National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), TRCN or any university that has faculties of education.”

On renumeration, Echono said, “We are finalising the figures with National Salaries and Income Wages Commission. We are also in talks with unions as well as states government and private school owners so that we can all work together and decide on when implementation will take off.”

TRCN Registrar, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, in his remarks, confirmed that over 7, 000 teachers are participated in the examination in 34 states, except for Jigawa and Ekiti states where they couldn’t meet the minimum number of candidates to participate in the examination.

He also announced that opportunity was recently provided for Nigerian teachers abroad to participate in the examination and get certified from wherever they are.

Ajiboye explained: “Before the certification, such candidate must write our examination. We cannot issue letter of professional standing without sitting for TRCN examination. So, we have placed the examination online for Nigerians in the diaspora, and the response has been very impressive.