In a bid to shore up the standard of education in the country, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has taken a hard stance on registration and licensing of teachers, but as the deadline expires, only about 50 per cent have complied, IYABO LAWAL reports.

For a job to be described as a profession, it must have its professional ethics, codes, and a body that regulates its activities. Over the years, the teaching profession has become an all-comers affair, and last resort for many who could not get their desired dream jobs.

Many attributed the lack of commitment and passion of some teachers to the low level of professionalism in teaching – unlike medicine, engineering, and law, which insist on specific qualifications before practise. But education allows all sorts into its fold.

Though the Federal and state Governments do not employ unqualified teachers, private schools do. While some practising teachers in private schools may be graduates, not all studied education. Also, anyone can establish schools without possessing requisite educational qualifications. Such schools, especially if serving low-income neighbourhoods, even employ secondary school leavers as teachers.

It was against the background that the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) was established by an Act of parliament, under Decree 31 of 1993 constitution, which later became Act III of 2004, to regulate the teaching profession.

The council had raised the alarm that more than 70 per cent of those teaching in primary and secondary schools nationwide were not qualified to be in the classroom, and insisted that teachers must get certification.

TRCN Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Prof Olusegun Ajiboye, lamented that most teachers, particularly those in private schools, do not have basic teaching qualifications, which is the National Certificate in Education (NCE), as stipulated by the National Policy on Education.

Ajiboye said it was better to rid the country of unqualified teachers even though there is a high teacher deficit. According to him, a total of 250,000 teachers must be employed annually in the country to address the shortfall of teachers at basic and secondary school levels.

To be licensed, a teacher must first possess the requisite educational teaching qualifications. They are – the NCE, which is the minimum qualification for primary and junior secondary school teachers; the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed); the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE); Masters in Education (M.Ed); or Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D). With any of these, the teacher can apply to the TRCN to write the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE). The examination is written in June and October.

The cost of the examination depends on the category of qualification. While teachers with Ph.D in Education pay N10,000; those with the M.Ed pay N8,000; B.Ed/B.SC and PGDE/HND and PGDE holders pay N7,000; while the NCE pay N6,500 for registration and study pack.

Ajiboye said the qualifying examination, which tests Basic Mathematics, Use of English, Educational psychology, Sociology, Statistics, research questions, teaching methodology and general knowledge, helps to determine the competence level of teachers.

He explained that the certification is to make teachers relevant in the 21st Century technology world, noting that the country needs technologically savvy teachers to cope with developments in the sector and achieve her potential.

So far, he said out of the over four million teachers in the country, about 2.3 million have registered with the council, but many of those in private schools are not yet registered.

According to him, 83 per cent of the registered teachers are in public schools, while at the private school level, less than 50 per cent of the teachers have actually registered.

“We have about 2.3 million teachers registered with TRCN, but the figure is still extremely low. We cannot achieve the expected quality education without competent teachers and school administrators, well equipped with the desirable knowledge, skills and effective operations of the education system.

“No country will allow just anybody to stand as a teacher in the classroom, when such a person is not qualified; it is important that teachers are registered and licensed by the appropriate professional body.

“If you go to any part of the world, it is a requirement that for you to be able to practise, you must have the certification of your professional body and license. Whereas a certificate is once in a lifetime, license is renewable every three years, and teachers have to pay, even for the renewal, as it is in other professions.

He noted that the council, at different times, had set deadlines for teachers without the TRCN certificate to get certified, or quit the profession. He said that is the standard practice in developed countries and Nigeria cannot be an exception.

Ajiboye maintained that the deadline was still in force and no fresh one would be given again to enforce compliance.

He said the council would soon resume monitoring and enforcement of the policy, which started in February 2020, and halted midway due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown.

But beyond certification, Ajiboye said the council undertakes mandatory professional development for teachers through training and conferences.

For instance, he said the council recently held its third national online conference for registered teachers, and organised digital literacy training programmes, especially in three key subject areas – Mathematics, English as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) every year.

“We also monitor accreditation of programmes in the various teachers’ institutions, like Colleges of Education and universities. It is part of our mandate, to ensure that the programmes are of good quality and can produce 21st Century teachers,” he said.

Justifying the government’s position, an educationist, Dr Tunde Raymond of EduConsults, said registration and licensing of teachers would lift the profession, just like what is obtained in other professional bodies.

Raymond, who was a teacher for many years, insisted that every profession would be recognised based on its regulations.

He said: “It’s a normal thing to register any practising teacher, it will assist the organisation vested with its regulations to know those who are qualified for membership.

“By so doing, the profession will no longer be an all comers affair, as only those with statutory qualifications will be admitted, and as such, quackery would be discouraged and standardisation enhanced,” Raymond said.

On his part, an educationist and registered teacher, Mrs Esther Olajide, lamented that quacks, masquerading as teachers, dominated many schools; and the only way out is to insist that they must be licensed like doctors, engineers or nurses.

She expressed regrets that the teaching profession has become a “dumping ground” for all comers, noting that teachers in some schools are secondary school dropouts, while the few qualified ones are NCE holders.

Mrs Adenike Olawoyin of Young Achievers School, Ikorodu, said registering would portray teachers as good role models for their students.

“TRCN has been on this registration issue for a while and I guess it’s the attitude of some people. But it has to be done. If you are a lawyer, you belong to a body, so, there is nothing wrong for teachers to have a place to belong to.

On his part, a retired principal, Adesoji Fasakin, said regulation is as important in education as it is in other professions.

“When I heard about the registration and licensing, I was very happy because every area of specialisation has its professionals and associations. In Nigeria, we know it is the teaching profession that is an all comers affair, whether they are qualified or not. There is this notion that once you are a graduate of a university, you are automatically a teacher but it is not. Teachers should be trained the way doctors and lawyers are trained.

But some teachers faulted TRCN’s action, questioning why they have to be certified after being trained in schools before they can be recognised as teachers.

They also lamented that many teachers could not afford the registration cost for the PQE because they earn poor salaries.

Ademola Bello, an education consultant, said: “The take home of many teachers in private schools cannot take them anywhere. That has been a major factor behind their poor service delivery.

“What teachers need is lots of motivation, not licensing or writing qualifying examinations. You cannot teach what you do not understand. If you motivate teachers; if there are incentives, they will teach. Train teachers; let them see that if they go for conferences and improve themselves, they would be rewarded. It would motivate them,” Bello said.

President, Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED), Mr. Orji Kanu, said the group is in talks with TRCN to ensure that teachers in low cost private schools are qualified by getting the TRCN certificate.

He said: “I commend TRCN for regulating the teaching profession, but we must not make an issue with those teaching in private schools who are not qualified. They don’t want to steal; hence, they’re working. That is not to say they should be left to continue teaching without a professional certificate.

“When we talk about qualification, we should not measure it by results. In Nigeria, we are too certificate conscious, and on that note, people who have power and strength and competency are relegated to the background as if they do not matter.

“There was research in 2007, which revealed a lot of things. We observed that the result of that research showed that teachers in public schools who are qualified with documents and certificates could not actually produce students with good learning outcomes, compared to those who were teaching in low cost private schools, whose learning outcomes were higher.

“So, in this case, we are first human before becoming teachers, so, what should happen is for the government to look for a way to assist teachers who are yet to be professionals but already in the system, to be certified.

“Teaching is a passion, when we were in secondary school, we were teaching some of our classmates and delivering better than some of our teachers, the only thing we need to do in this instance is to encourage those people to develop themselves and acquire the necessary certification,” Kanu added.