3,963 Teachers Fail Professional Qualifying Examination – TRCN

The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) says about 3,963 teachers failed the November 2023 diet of the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) conducted to test the professional knowledge of those in the teaching profession.

Registrar of the Council, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye who made this known during a meeting in Abuja, said 15,753 teachers sat for the November diet which commenced on November 23, 2023, and ended on November 25, 2023, but 3,963 failed.

According to him, the results of those engaged in examination malpractice have been cancelled.

He said: “A total of 15,753 sat for the examination in 38 Centres across the country. Out of this, we have 10,636 that passed which is about 72.9 per cent and those that failed are 3,963 representing 37.1 per cent. You will agree this is a very good result.

“All the cases of examination malpractices that were reported were treated accordingly all over the country at the management level and the results were cancelled as punitive measures. All the cases were identified or recorded because we have evidence against them.”

The registrar who noted that the Council had been confronted with some challenges because of the nation’s transition in power, however, maintained that TRCN was able to achieve its set goals for the year 2023, even as he added that the over 150 million debt he met when he assumed office as Registrar had been cleared off.

Reeling out some of its achievements in 2023, he stated that PQE was conducted in over 100 institutions, six batches of PQE were conducted online for Nigerians in the diaspora and results were released immediately, inductions were carried out in over 100 institutions, and appreciable progress was made with development partners on a professional standard.

Speaking further, Ajiboye who insisted that the teaching profession was no longer an all-comers affair or a “job for the boys,” disclosed that thus far, over 2.3 million teachers have been registered, out of which over 400,000 have been fully licensed by the Council.

While noting that less than 50 percent of teachers in private institutions were not qualified, the Registrar stated that TRCN would focus on private institutions where according to him, a large chunk of challenges in the teaching sector was emanating from.

He however disclosed moves by TRCN to get a fiat from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), to empower the Council on enforcement and compliance through the prosecution of unqualified teachers to stem the tide.