By Maryam Abeeb
The Registrar and Chief Executive,Teachers Registration Council Of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof Josiah Ajiboye , has disclosed the registration of over 2.3 million teachers, with training of 22,500 teachers across 16 states on digital literacy training and remote learning, remediation of over 7,000 quack teachers in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe respectively.
Ajiboye, who noted that teachers are key players in the education sector of any nation, saying the challenge with Nigeria education was largely attributed to poor teaching, where experienced professional teachers who are highly committed, dedicated and virile were difficult to find in schools.
He made this known at a one capacity building workshop organised for the Association of Education Correspondents in Nigeria, held in Abuja.
The Registrar who was represented by the agency Director Planning Research and Statistics, Ugo-Ali Lawrence said, the Council in fulfilling its mandates which involves innovations in public policies to upscale the dignity, rewards and recognition of the teaching profession in Nigeria.
Also speaking,the president of colleges of education academic staff union (COEASU) Smart Olugbeko stressed that,the central of quality in education is teacher education adding that,the country cannot talk about quality in education when there is no quality in teacher education.
The Head of Regulation, Accreditation and Enforcement, at the Teachers Registration Council, TRCN, Hammed Okunola said Nigeria must prioritise teacher training and reward system if it hopes to improve the education sector.
Okunola insisted that well trained and committed teachers are now a luxury in Nigerian Institutions of learning.
He noted that brilliant individuals refuse to study education courses at universities, which is a prerequisite of training in the profession, because the sector is poorly remunerated, lamenting that there are now accidental teachers in the country, without dedication or love for the profession because they are forced into teaching as a result of unemployment.
Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Teacher Education: Challenges and Opportunities in Basic Education Sub-sector in Nigeria.,” Okunola said until the dignity and rewards attached to the teaching profession in Nigeria is scaled up, quackery will continue to thrive.
He identified innovations in policies, professional certification, up-scaling the rewards and recognition levels of the teaching profession as some of the steps needed to be prioritised in sanitising the teaching profession.
Noting that no nation can rise above the quality of its teachers, Okunola said standards are now being introduced into classrooms through the deployment of only certified teachers who have been tested and licensed by the regulatory body.
He said teachers are now mandated to go through Digital Literacy Training, DLT, regular Mandatory Continuous Professional Development (MCPD) and Professional Qualifying Examinations, PQE.
However, to ensure that quackery is eliminated from the teaching profession and the sector made attractive to young, brilliant individuals, the TRCN insists Nigeria must upscale its value for education.
Earlier in his remarks,the Chairman Education Corespondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) Chuks Ukwuatu said there is no doubt that the success of an educational enterprise particularly in terms of quality delivery depends on a large extent on the regular supply of quality teachers .
