Why TRCN qualifying exams may now hold four times yearly —Registrar

THE Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) is considering the possibility of holding its qualifying professional examination for prospective and on- the-job school teachers three or four times a year against the two times (April and December) it is currently being held yearly.

The registrar and chief executive of the council, Professor Segun Ajiboye, dropped the hint in an exclusive chat with Tribune Education.

He said the plan was necessary to accommodate many more school teachers to be professionalized.

Ajiboye noted that there had been an increase in the number of teachers coming forward to register for the qualifying examination and certificate, especially from private schools, in the last two weeks, though he did not give a specific figure.

He said this, however, would not prevent the council from carrying out its proposed monitoring exercise across schools nationwide to fish out charlatans.

Explaining the reason for the increase in the number of teachers seeking certification, he said most teachers in private schools claimed they thought the mandatory certification is applicable only to teachers in public schools.

“But now they have realized that they are also captured in the policy,” he said, adding that “even at that, the council will start the monitoring programme by the end of this month (January) and any teacher or school found to have violated the policy will be sanctioned accordingly.”

Ajiboye said those who failed the last examination held in December still have the opportunity to re-sit, and that the council’s next qualifying examination will be held in March or April.