From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
No fewer than 11,350 candidates participated in the first batch of the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) conducted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), across the country for the purposes of awarding professional licence to the successful teachers.
Data from TRCN indicated that Lagos state had the highest number of applicants, followed by Kano State and the FCT, respectively, while Kebbi State had lowest number of applicants.
TRCN explained that PQE was one of the measures introduced by Federal Ministry of Education to weed out unqualified teachers and quacks in the teaching profession, stressing that nobody can get the TRCN licence without passing the PQE provisional qualifying examination.
TRCN Registrar, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, confirmed to journalists at the examination centre in Abuja, on Saturday, that the exercise went smoothly across the country, according to report from state representatives.
He said: “There has been a lot of improvement with regards to accreditation and other procedures. Part of what we did was to develop a software that would enable us accredit candidates; and this is working perfectly well.
“We are able to check the candidate’s name, passport photograph and every other thing like that. So, we know that the people that are writing the examination are those who actually applied; so, it’s been going on smoothly,” he said.
He said the examination which is conducted in all the states of the federation, started since Wednesday and was concluded in some states on Friday, while some states concluded theirs on Saturday.
Ajiboye commended the candidates for displaying good character, support and comportment, adding that their conduct was an indication that there is maturity and the people are now realizing that this is serious examination.
Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. David Adejo, who also monitored the exercise at Sascon International School Maitama, Abuja, commended TRCN for the improvement in the accreditation process for the examination.
He explained that this year’s documentation exercise was on a double level. “First, the candidate identify his or herself, fill the form, then also crosscheck the slip with the software for further authenticity.
“So, I think they are improving on incremental basis every year on the process for professional qualification exam for teachers,” he said.
He said the effort being made by TRCN has resulted in reduced cases of quackery at the junior and senior secondary school levels, adding that the government was still working on cleaning the database of qualified teachers at early childhood and primary school level.
One of the candidates, Mrs. Titilope Yunusa, said she was sitting the examination for the second time as she could not make it in her first sitting, stating that she does not want to fail this time around.
“I experienced difficulties in my first attempt because I don’t really know how to operate the computer, but now I have learnt and can operate it; that is why I am here to take the examination again, and I am confident of making a good result.”