By Sade Adewale, Ondo
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The Registrar and Chief Executive of the Teacher Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof. Josiah Olusegun Ajiboye, has stated that the decision of the council to introduce a qualifying examination for persons with interest in teaching career was aimed at entrenching high standards, and making the profession globally competitive.
Ajiboye stated this at the first induction ceremony held for 375 holders of NCE, B. ED, B.Sc. Edu, M.Sc. ( Ed)/ M.ED, admitted into the teaching profession by the TRCN at Adeyemi College of Education (ACE) Ondo.
Describing teaching as one of the most recognized professions in Nigeria, the TRCN Registrar, said the qualifying examination was also aimed at restoring the dignity of the teaching profession that had reduced due to encroachment by quacks.
Ajiboye said,” I want to challenge you that teaching today, has gone beyond what you call all-comers affairs. The era of when somebody will say my son or daughter has not been able to get a job, please, let him or her manage teaching is gone.
“We introduced the first professional qualifying examination in 2017, and now I can tell you that even if you are a professor, and you want to get the certificate of the Teacher Registration Council of Nigeria, you must sit and pass the professional qualifying examination”,he remarked.
In addition, Prof. Ajiboye stated that as a way of attracting “bright brains” to embrace teaching, the TRCN also secured the approval of the government to pay bursary and teaching practice allowance to students studying education courses in tertiary institutions.
The TRCN Registrar revealed plans by the federal government to place fresh education graduates entering the public service on grade level 9 instead of 8, while those with Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) would be placed on level 8 instead of 7.
In her remarks, the Registrar of ACE, Mrs Olufisayo Fakorede, represented by the Deputy Registrar, Establishment and Personnel Matters, Mrs Adeyinka Tugbiyele, congratulated the inductees and college academic board ” for being able to fashion out a curriculum that has enabled the institution to produce high-quality teachers, in the best tradition of the teaching profession”.
