Candidates who failed TRCN qualifying exam advised to re-register in a week

The 17,594 candidates who failed in the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) conducted by the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) in October have about a week to re-register.

They are among the 62,895 who sat for the October diet of the PQE in designated centres across Nigeria. Some 3,459 others registered but we’re absent during the conduct of the examination.

TRCN Registrar, Josiah Ajiboye disclosed on Thursday that 45,301 candidates who passed that exam have qualified to register for teaching licenses.

For the others who failed as well as other candidates interested in obtaining the TRCN licence, the education professor said they have till 8th November to complete their registration.

EduCeleb.com recalls that the National Council on Education had approved a 31st December, 2019 deadline for teachers to get TRCN licence as anyone without it would not be allowed to teach anymore.

TRCN annually conducts its qualifying examination twice – May and October. But for 2019, it added another diet to give a last minute opportunity for candidates still interested in teaching in Nigerian classrooms.

The October diet held in 47 centres across the country between the 11th and 12th October but for a disruption at the Ibadan centre that made the exam there postponed till the 26th.

Penultimate week, the TRCN boss told this medium that the agency would be conducting an additional PQE on 2nd November.

He had now announced that the results of the October edition had been approved by the Governing Council of TRCN.

Giving the breakdown of scores candidates earned, he described their performance as not bad.

“The result was not bad because the average performance of those who passed the examination is 72.03 per cent, which is 45,301 candidates, while 27.97 per cent which is 17,594 candidates failed.

“Going by the states performances, the teachers from Lagos State recorded 88.19 per cent followed by Enugu State with 85.76 per cent and Kano State with 84.69 per cent.

“The performances of the candidates from other states are also very encouraging and the Federal Ministry of Education and TRCN Governing Board are happy with it,” he said.

The University of Ibadan don noted that PQE was important to ensure that an individual registered as a professional teacher.

He reiterated that the TRCN would not issue teaching certificates and licenses to any teacher without writing the examination.

“We are now preparing for November/December diet of PQE, for the council to meet up with the deadline of Dec. 31.

“We are organising this Batch C to meet up the requests from many teachers who wish to meet the December deadline and the registration of the candidate will end by Nov. 8.

“The conduct of the November/December PQE is scheduled for 6th and 7th December. Those who failed October diet have the opportunity to re-enroll and re-write the examination with the new set.

“Those who also passed should go ahead to register at the centre close to them to be able to get their certificates and licences as qualified teachers,” he said.

Ajiboye maintained the TRCN’s readiness to ensure that unregistered or unqualified teachers are barred from the education system by 31st December.

“It is not only TRCN’s position but the position of National Council on Education that has to be implemented. We will make sure we enforce the law and by January 2020, we will begin to move around for enforcement,” he said.