The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has expressed deep concern over the shortage of qualified teachers across the country, identifying it as a major factor contributing to the decline in educational standards.
Speaking on the issue, the council emphasized that possessing a teaching certificate alone does not guarantee competence in effectively communicating knowledge to students. “Again, it is one thing for you to say you have been to teacher’s college, and it is another thing to be able to break it down to the level of the students to soothe their specific needs. This challenge has to be addressed, and as soon as we have the accelerated programme, that is going to bring a lot of teachers in, because they don’t want to come to public schools. And what is stopping them is that they don’t have education degrees,” a TRCN official stated.
The council revealed that about 1.4 million teachers are currently registered under TRCN, with a goal to reach 20 million in the next two years. “What we have done is to digitise our systems, so that more people can be able to register,” the official added.
TRCN also highlighted the importance of collaboration among teachers to enhance learning outcomes. “Every teacher has a gift which is different from one person to another. But what we are propagating in education is for everybody to come together and plan lessons together,” the statement read.
The council urged educators to embrace teamwork and peer learning, stressing that joint lesson planning among teachers of the same grade level produces better results than working in isolation. It also underscored the importance of instilling a culture of collaboration in students through mixed-ability groupings.
On leadership, the council encouraged teachers to learn from schools that are performing well and adopt best practices to improve their own institutions.
What you should know
The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) is responsible for regulating and improving teaching standards nationwide.
Its current drive to expand teacher registration and promote collaboration aims to address the shortage of qualified educators and enhance the overall quality of education in Nigeria.
