By Kuni Tyessi
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has stated that Kaduna State remains the only state where teachers are yet to sit for their Professional Qualifying Examinations (PQE).
Already, 15,000 intending teachers have sat for the 2020 PQE across 35 states in accordance with COVID-19 safety guidelines.
Also, the council said it has identified obsolete rules and regulations which remain as inefficient factors for the regulation of teachers in Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary of the Council, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, who disclosed this in Abuja, at a one-day capacity building workshop for Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN), called on education stakeholders to rally round thecouncil in pushing for the amendment of the Act establishing it.
He equally appealed to the National Assembly to, as soon as possible, pass into law a bill brought before it by TRCN to that effect.
He said: “And on the reason TRCN’s PQE was not conducted in Kaduna State, we wrote to the governor of the state
seeking permission to conduct this exams in July, we did not get approval. We believe this was done according to
the discretion of the state government.
There were worrisome figures of COVID-19 cases in the state and this may be part of their reasons. But we are
ready as soon as they are ready.”
Speaking on the impact of COVID-19 on Nigerian teachers, the registrar said 63 million primary and secondary school teachers were affected and that the figure would still rise.
“The COVID-19 global health crisis threatens to significantly slow down progress towards many of the global
goals in particular, the sustainable development goals. It is also likely to exacerbate the global learning crisis andglobal education inequalities as the impact will fall disproportionately on the poorest,” he said.
The TRCN Registrar added that teachersare in the front line, within the COVID-19 crisis, in ensuring that learning continues.
“Around the world ,teachers and school leaders have been rapidly mobilising and innovating to facilitate quality distance learning for students in confinement with and without the use of digital technologies,” he said.
According to Ajiboye, there is the need to prioritize teachers and learners’ health, safety and well-being as schools are gradually being reopened to learners.
