The Federal Government has said December 2019 remains the deadline to weed out teachers who are not licensed by the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) in public and private schools.
Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, stated this at the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT)workshop on privatisation and commercialisation of education in the country, in Abuja, yesterday.
Represented by TRCN Registrar, Prof Olusegun Ajiboye, the minister said the federal government is not opposed to private participation in education but it would not encourage commercialisation so as not to take education out of the reach of the poor.
He said: “With the position of the National Council of Education, the TRCN has been mandated that by December 2019, anyone who has not registered, qualified and licensed by the council will no longer be allowed in our classrooms. And this position will be enforced to the letter.
“Now, teachers still have the opportunity to take two professional qualifying examinations in May and October 2019 for them to get their registration and qualification.
“On commercialisation, it is obvious that the government can no longer fund education alone, so private participation is encouraged.
‘’But, education cannot be commercialised, because it is not a commodity. We should dissuade anything that will lead to commercialisation of education.”
On his part, NUT National President, Dr. Mohammed Idris, said the union frowned at some state governments’ handover of public schools to private organisations, which was encouraging commercialisation of education.
“The NUT has, over the years, vehemently opposed the handover of public schools by some state governments to private organisations.
‘’Information indicates that only recently, some primary schools have been handed over to faith-based organisations, by Abia State Government, without recourse to stakeholders.