The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) says it now issues a Professional Standing Letter to Nigerian teachers seeking appointments outside the country.
The New Registrar/Chief Executive of the Council, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, said this during a media interaction at the Council’s Head Office in Abuja on Monday.
According to him, the issuance of the letter enables such teachers to to enjoy equal treatment as their counterpart outside the country.
“With this letter that we are not issuing let me assure Nigerians that it is now guaranteed that Nigerians that go outside Nigeria to teach now enjoy parity of esteem with their counterpart over there because they are now given the same recognition.
“Our certificate are recognised ,our licence are recognised worldwide and this is what we are going to make sure we improve upon and make sure we deliver.
“We have issued letters of professional standing to Nigerian teachers in Canada, South Africa, Australia, United States of America and others.
“This letter of professional standing issued by TRCN to qualified, certified and duly licensed teachers helps the Nigerian teacher when seeking teaching appointment in any other nation of the world outside Nigeria.
“This is considered a landmark achievement for our country.
He also advised parents to derive the maximum benefits from the services of the teachers imparting knowledge to their wards by verifying the competency of such teachers.
Ajiboye said that the council was poised to flush out unqualified teachers from the profession.
“Permit me to use this platform to call on parents across the country to verify the state of teachers who are teaching their children.
“You pay a lot for your wards in schools, some pay one million per term, some pay 500,000 per term and you do not know the status of the teachers teaching your children.
“At TRCN we are devising a facility where if you pay a token, you get the code and then you can log on our website and you will be able to check whether that teacher teaching your child is licensed by TRCN or not.
“We want a situation whereby it will be very difficult for any quacks to be in our system. Quackery is found in every profession.
“We want to make sure we eradicate quackery in teaching so that we afford Nigerian parents the opportunity to go just with a button and check the status of the teacher that is teaching your child to be able to take your decision on where your Children should go.”
He further expressed his determination to sustain President Muhammadu Buhari’s “change mantra“ by adhering to the principle of justice in steering the affairs of the council.
“I have come to ensure the restoration of the lost glory of the Nigerian teacher via enhanced teacher quality and professionalism’
He said the council would intensify the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Programme which was designed to sharpen the skills of teacher to enhance better performance in their duties.
“I am sure that the MCPD will without doubt achieve to provide a forum for a cross fertilisation of ideas and experiences which would ultimately improve professional competence and commitment.’
The Registrar said that by next year the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) for teachers across the country will be reintroduced.
“The PQE modules have been developed and test run on sample groups to ascertain the validity and authenticity of the test constructs.
“It serves as one of the best tools for assessing, admitting and licensing practitioners in any profession,” he said
Ajiboye said the council now issued a letter of Professional Standing to Nigerian teachers who wanted to teach outside the country so as to enjoy equal treatment as their counterpart outside the country.
He said that the council would ensure proper accreditation, monitoring and supervision of courses and programmes of teacher education institutions in Nigeria.
The Registrar noted that the council had registered and duly certified not less than 1.5 million teachers across the country.
He expressed hope that the figure would double as the council would embark on an aggressive campaign towards revamping the system for more productivity.
Ajiboye said 54 institutions had been granted provisional approval to run Professional Diploma in Education and 30 educational institutions were due for reaccreditation this year.
He said the council was ready to partner with state and local governments in recruiting, training and deploying graduates and NCE holders interested in teaching.
The Registrar said the proposed recruitment of 500,000 teachers by The Federal Government would bridge teacher-deficit gap in the education system.
He, however, stressed the need for the council to be carried along in the recruitment process.
“So we are insisting we are part of the process so we can assess the quality and we are still working with the honourable Minster of Education to ensure we are at the centre of the process. (NAN)