- 12, 539 write TRCN’s qualifying exam
The Federal Government through the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has warned state government and owners of private institutions in the country against the recruitment of individuals without the requisite TRCN certification and licensing to practise as teachers across primary to tertiary levels of education.
On Saturday, 12,539 candidates sat for the May Diet of the Teachers’ Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) conducted by the TRCN across the country.
Director, Certification and Licensing, TRCN, Dr Jacinta Ezeahurukwe, who spoke with newsmen on Saturday during the monitoring of the conduct of the examination at SASCON International School, Abuja, insisted that the teachers’ qualifying examination introduced in 2017 has come to stay.
Benue State made a surprise quantum leap with 1,416 candidates, topping applicants from other states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
She said the PQE, which was designed to test the professional knowledge of those in the teaching profession, was a prerequisite for licensing and certification of teachers before being allowed to teach in the classrooms in Nigeria.
Ezeahurukwe said: “At the stage we are at now, we are making sure that every state and any organisation that has to recruit any teacher from primary to tertiary, must ensure that only qualified teachers are recruited, and for that person to be certified as a qualified teacher, you must go through these processes.”
While giving statistics on the registration of candidates for the examination, the director revealed that a total of 12,539 candidates registered to participate in the examination nationwide.
