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- explain reason for recent portal downtime
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has announced plans to develop and introduce a mobile application that will make access to registration and participation in the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) more convenient for users.
TRCN Registrar, Dr. Ronke Soyombo, who disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja, noted that the innovation is expected to be put to use by the end of April.
She explained that the recent downtime of the council portal was caused by technical issues with its former service provider, but that has been fixed. “The downtime lasted for only one week in December, and was promptly resolved after the council disengaged the developer responsible and migrated to a new provider.:
The Registrar stressed that the council remains committed to efficiency and revenue generation, noting that it would be counterproductive to invite teachers for examinations while operating a faulty system.
“As much as I am an educationist, I also have a responsibility to generate revenue for government. Every agency is expected to remit 50 per cent of its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). I would not announce an examination and have the portal down. That would be counterproductive,” she added.
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She further acknowledged, however, that some teachers still face challenges accessing the portal due to limited digital literacy. “To address this,TRCN continues to provide alternative channels, including physical registration at state offices across the country. That is why our state offices remain open. At no time in January was the portal down,” she said.
On inclusivity, particularly for teachers in rural areas with poor internet connectivity, the Registrar said there’s an ongoing efforts to bridge the gap including the deployment of help desk officers in tertiary institutions, mobile outreach in some states, and sensitisation campaigns in underserved communities.
She also said that collaboration with stakeholders such as the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), state commissioners, and education administrators has been instrumental in expanding access.
“We are not fully there yet, it is still a work in progress. But we are making efforts to ensure inclusivity and reach teachers in rural areas,” she added.
Responding to suggestions on offline integration, Dr. Soyombo said the council is exploring the idea but is currently focused on launching a mobile application to improve accessibility.
