No fewer than 12,539 teachers nationwide sat for the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) which began on Thursday and ended on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
The qualification examination is conducted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) to test the professional competence of teachers.
Speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Saturday, the TRCN Director of Certification and Licensing, Dr Jacinta Ezeahurukwe, said the examination ensured that qualified teachers remained in classrooms across the country.
Ezeahurukwe said the impact of the exercise had widely been felt both nationally and internationally.
She said ‘no PQE, no staying in the classroom’ was enforced in 2019 with deadlines and this resulted in many teachers coming out to obtain their PQE.
The TRCN director said: “Everybody knows that the teaching profession has gotten to a level that is highly recognised internationally and nationally.
“Everybody knows that you cannot just walk into a class now and say you are a teacher, you must be registered and licensed by TRCN for you to practice.
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“Since 2014 TRCN has started this PQE and it has come to stay. Even internationally, they have recognised it and they have looked at the processes of examination.”
Ezeahurukwe said people have found it credible that the United Kingdom has granted Nigeria one of those countries in Africa that allow their teachers to apply for Qualifying Teachers Status.
The director explained that the qualifying examination established foundational knowledge that a teacher must possess and exhibit as contained in professional teaching standards.
She said for the May diet examination, Benue State came top with 1,416 as the highest number of registered candidates, followed by Osun State with 1,410 candidates.
Ezeahurukwe said Cross River State came last with 59 persons, followed by Ebonyi State with 69.
She noted that Nigerians are now aware of the importance of the qualifying examination, saying hardly is there any school in any state that recruits teachers without TRCN certification and license.
One of the teachers, Agnes Agbo from Veritas University, said she was prompted to take part in the examination to continue in the teaching profession, as well as have the opportunity to travel if the need arises.
Agbo said the examination was successful as the hitch experienced earlier was quickly rectified by the monitoring team.
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