Nigerian govt begins expulsion of unqualified teachers from schools | EduCeleb
Abdussalam Amoo
4th March 2020
The Nigerian government will next week begin the enforcement of its policy that allows only teachers licensed by the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) to teach in schools in the country.
TRCN Registrar, Olusegun Ajiboye said the first phase of the compliance monitoring and documentation will take place nationwide between 9th and 17th March.
The council, based on the approval of the National Council on Education had earlier set  31st December, 2019 as the deadline for teachers in both public and private schools to get their teaching licence from the TRCN.
While addressing journalists in Ibadan, Ajiboye said the council has constituted a task force to scrutinise the credentials of those teaching in public and private schools across the country.
He said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has a dream to ensure professional teachers are given the necessary tools to perform.
According to him, TRCN certification is a requirement for employment as teachers in both public and private schools.
“As the December 31, 2019, deadline given by the National Council on Education for anybody who wants to practise as a teacher in the country to get qualified, registered and licensed by TRCN has passed, the regulatory authority is embarking on verification of compliance in all the States of the Federation and FCT.
“The exercise is, however, put on hold in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states due to the challenges there.
“The TRCN team in each state will be led by a professor of Education or a provost of a College of Education. The first leg of the exercise will start on the 9th of March and end on the 17th.
“However, this exercise will be a continuous one as TRCN has created a Compliance and Enforcement Unit at its head office for routine monitoring. Prior to the commencement of the monitoring, a technical team was set up by TRCN and a meeting was held with all the State Coordinators where issues of logistics were discussed and harmonised.
“TRCN takes exception to some states making TRCN certificate optional in their recruitment of teachers. This practice must stop because it is mandatory for anyone who wants to profit from the job of a teacher to be registered with the regulatory authority.
“It is, therefore, considered absurd for any state to say TRCN Certificate will be an added advantage, whereas that is supposed to be the number one criterion. This is the global best practice.
“There is no serious nation that allows just anybody into its classrooms to teach their children. There must be evidence of professional certification to practice as a teacher.”