‘Teachers without TRCN certificate risk two years imprisonment’

From Muhammad Ibrahim, Kaduna

Executive Registrar, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Professor Addison Mark Wokocha, yesterday said any teacher that practice without the agency’s certificate risk two years imprisonment.

“Those teachers that are teaching without TRCN certificate risk two years imprisonment and their days are numbered because we will soon begin to sanction both the employers and employees,” he said.

Professor Addison disclosed this during the first induction ceremony for National Teachers Institute (NTI) graduands for PGDE and NCE held in Kaduna.

He pointed out that in a bid to ensure strict adherence to professional ethics in the teaching profession, TRCN has successfully established Teachers Investigating Panel (TIP) in every state of the federation.

“Also established to further instill discipline among teachers is the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal (TDT) which is domicile at the TRCN headquarters in Abuja. These two disciplinary bodies, without doubt,will help to raise professional, ethical standards and productivity among teachers”, he said.

He noted that more details about the legal provisions and operations of the TIP in every state of the federation and the Teachers Tribunal are contained in a TRCN handbook on TIP which is given out free of charge to teachers.

In his remarks, NTI Director General, Associate Professor, Aminu Ladan Sharehu, said the TRCN induction programme was vital to all teachers because once a teacher is inducted, he/she becomes a professional

teacher without having to undergo any rigorous professional examinations.