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Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Federal Government has set up a task force that will crackdown on quack teachers across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The Registrar, Teacher Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Professor Segun Ajiboye, disclosed this in a chat with reporters in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Wednesday.
He stated that the Federal Government was set to begin enforcement and monitoring of compliance with its directive that only qualified professionals licensed by TRCN should teach in public and private schools nationwide.
Ajiboye explained that the first phase of the compliance monitoring and documentation would commence across the country on March 9 and would end a week later on March 17.
The task force, according to Ajiboye, has been activated to beam a searchlight on the credentials of those teaching in government and private schools for appropriate commendation or sanction as the case may be.
The National Council on Education declared December 31, 2019, as the last day for unlicensed teachers to be registered with TRCN or get booted out of the classroom.
Related: TRCN conducts certification exam for teachers, final for the year
Ajiboye, who maintained that no serious country allows her future leaders to be miseducated by quacks, stated that the Buhari led administration is determined to have professional teachers given necessary tools to excel.
“TRCN commences compliance monitoring across the country. As the December 31, 2019 deadline given by the National Council on Education for anybody who wants to practise as a teacher in the country to get qualified, registered and licensed by TRCN has passed, the regulatory authority is embarking on verification of compliance in all the states of the federation and FCT.
“The exercise is, however, put on hold in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states due to the challenges there. The TRCN 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 the 9th of March and end on the 17th.
“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,” the TRCN Registrar said.
Ajiboye also took exception to state governments that have been recruiting teachers and treating TRCN certification or license as optional, as he reiterated that a TRCN certification is mandatory in order to be considered employable as a teacher.
“TRCN takes exception to some states making the TRCN Certificate optional in their recruitment of teachers. This practice must stop because it is 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. This is the global best practice.
“There is no serious nation that would allow just anybody into its classrooms to teach their children. There must be evidence of professional certification to practice as a teacher,” he said.
