Participants at the 2023 edition of ECAN/TRCN workshop held on Thursday in Abuja
By JOHN ONAH, Abuja –
The Registrar/Chief Executive, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof. Josiah Ajiboye has identified poor teaching, where experienced professional teachers are difficult to find in the schools as greatest challenge facing the nation’s education sector.
Ajiboye disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the 2023 edition of ECAN/TRCN workshop with the theme: “Strengthening Teacher Education: Challenges and Opportunities in Basic Education Sub-Sector in Nigeria”.
According to him, “the challenge with Nigerian Education was largely attributed to poor teaching, where experienced professional teachers who are highly committed, dedicated and virile were difficult to find in our schools”.
He noted that on fulfilling its mandate which involved innovations in public policies to upscale the dignity, rewards among others, the Council has taken some practical steps to salvage the situation.
Those steps he noted among others include; the path policy for the teaching profession (beginners proficient, mentor and the distinguished), elongation of teachers’ years of service from 60 to 65 years with other incentives.
“Also, it will engaged in digital literacy and remote learning with 22,500 teachers across 16 states, remediation of over 7,000 quack teachers on BAY states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe as well as registration of over 2.3 million teacher among other innovations.
“There will be paper presentations from the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, National Commission for Colleges of Education and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, he said.
Ajiboye urged ECAN to sustain its collaborative efforts at transforming the teaching profession in Nigeria adding that the Council was willing and open to always partner with her.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Chairman, Early childhood Association of Nigeria (ECAN), Chunks Ukwuatu, said: “it was a well established fact that proper teacher education is a key tool required by professionals in the teaching profession to excel in a dynamic global community.
He however said that there was no doubt that the success of an educational enterprise particularly in terms of quality delivery depends on a large extent on the regular supply of quality teachers .
“This no doubt brings to bear why the training and production of the manpower required for the attainment of national objectives as captured in the National Policy of Education should be framed on the quality and quantity of teachers”.
“This is why as key stakeholders in the education sector,we believe that it is important to discuss on how to strengthen teacher education in Nigeria especially as it relates to the dynamics in teaching profession so as to communicate the same effectively to the public”, he said.
