The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, TRCN, has cancelled the results of some teachers who engaged in malpractice in the Professional Qualifying Examination, PQE, it organised in November.
Also, the Council disclosed that 3,963 teachers failed the examination, which held across the country.
The TRCN conducts PQE to test the competence of teachers.
The Registrar of TRCN, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, told newsmen, Monday, at an interactive session that 15,753 teachers sat for the November diet. It commenced on November 23 and ended on November 25.
However, he said, of the number, 3,963 teachers fail the competency test.
He said: “A total of 15,753 sat for the examination in 38 centres across the country. Out of this, we have 10,636 that passed. This is about 72.9 percent.
Failed
“And those that failed are 3,963 representing 37.1 percent. You will agree this is a very good result.
“All the cases of examination malpractices that were reported were treated accordingly all over the country at the management level. And the results cancelled as punitive measures. All the cases were identified or recorded because we have evidence against them.”
The registrar noted that the Council had been confronted with some challenges because of the nation’s transition in power.
However, he maintained that TRCN was able to achieve its set goals for the year 2023. He added that the over N150 million debt he met when he assumed office as Registrar had been cleared.
Reeling out some of its achievements in 2023, he stated that PQE was conducted in over 100 institutions. Six batches of PQE were conducted online for Nigerians in the diaspora and results were released immediately.
Also, inductions were carried out in over 100 institutions, and appreciable progress was made with development partners on professional standards.
Speaking further, Ajiboye insisted that the teaching profession was no longer an all-comers affair or a “job for the boys”.
2.3m teachers
He disclosed that thus far, over 2.3 million teachers have been registered, out of which over 400,000 have been fully licensed by the Council.
He noted that less than 50 percent of teachers in private institutions were not qualified. The Registrar disclosed that TRCN would focus on private institutions where, according to him, a large chunk of challenges in the teaching sector was emanating from.
He further hinted at moves by TRCN to get a fiat from the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), to empower the Council on enforcement and compliance through the prosecution of unqualified teachers.
He said: “We are working with the AGF to get a fiat. It will help us to prosecute, go after erring institutions because the law establishing TRCN utterly gives us the power to prosecute. But we need the fiat to be able to do that.
“We are discussing with the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation to be able to prosecute. And when we get that, it will not be difficult for us to be able to go after some of these institutions.
“The problem we have is that education is on the concurrent list. These private schools are not registered by the federal government, they are registered by state governments.
“We have been discussing with them to confirm the list of their teachers to ensure they are not cheaters but qualified.
“In 2024 I want to assure Nigerians that we will make sure we shift our focus with more emphasis on private schools.”
