Guardian

EDUCATION Minister, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i Thursday called on the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) to ensure that teachers teaching in Nigerian schools were qualified.

She said that professionalisation of the teaching profession would ensure qualitative education service delivery in the country, saying that those who thought must have the prerequisite skills and competencies to deliver their subjects in an understandable manner to the learners.

During a working visit to the TRCN headquarters in Abuja, the minister said that in recognition of the fact that teachers held the key to qualitative education deliver, that teacher education and training was included in the four-year development plan document on the education sector.

While commending the council for its efforts towards ensuring professionalising the teaching profession, especially the development of the Harmonized National Benchmark for Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) to unify PGDE syllabi in Nigeria, and Professional Standards for Nigerian Teachers, a document to monitor and measure the performance of teachers. Rufa’i said that all the necessary support would be given to the council to achieve its mandate.

She assured TRCN boss of taking steps at addressing the challenges the council faced, particularly the need for cooperation from states, in its effort to improve standard of teacher education in the country.

To this end, she directed TRCN Chief Executive, Prof. Addison Wokocha to prepare a paper in that regard to be presented at the Commissioners of Education Forum meeting scheduled for March this year.

Speaking earlier, Wokocha had expressed appreciation for the support the minister had given to the council, and commended the dynamic posture she had adopted in piloting the affairs of the education sector.

He said that under her leadership, the council had witnessed a lot of activities and had made appreciable accomplishments that have advanced the teaching profession not only in Nigeria, but the whole of Africa and beyond.

Wokocha listed some of the accomplishments to include the chairing of the Round Table of the first Africa Forum of Teaching Regulatory Authorities (AFTRA) held in Abuja, which earned TRCN as the Headquarters of AFTRA, which is a branch of the International Forum of Teaching Regulatory Authorities (IFTRA).   Others are the launch of the Harmonised National Benchmark for Post Graduate Diploma in Education and Professional Standards for Nigerian Teachers document.

However, Wokocha said that the council was faced with several challenges. “We feel disenchanted when we note that those in position to improve our education system are at times paying lip service only,” he lamented.

He, therefore, appealed to the minister to among others, prevail on Commissioners of Education in all the states of the federation to thenceforth employ and retain only qualified teachers as obtains in other professions.