No fewer than 15,750 teachers sat for the November Diet of the Professional Qualifying Examination for teachers across the country.

 

The examination was conducted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) to test the professional knowledge of those in the teaching profession.

 

Speaking with newsmen during the conduct of the examinations in Abuja on Saturday, the Director, Certification and Licensing, TRCN, Dr Jacinta Ezeahurukwe said the examination would ensure that teachers were licenced before going into the classrooms.

 

She said,TRCN PQE is taking place all over the nation, it started on Nov.23 in some states, some other states wrote yesterday and today the remaining states are writing.

 

According to her, the exam is mandatory because teaching is a profession and for every profession, there must be a professional qualifying examination.

 

Ezeahurukwe said that the qualifying examination provided the content at the foundational knowledge that a teacher must possess and exhibit, saying this is however contained in the teachers professional standards.

 

She, therefore, said that the results were expected to be out in two weeks. 

 

 

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, David Adejo, who commended the process said it would go along ong way in improving the quality of teachers in the country.

 

Represented by the Director of Reform Coordination and Service Improvement in the ministry, Dr Yusuf Saidi, Adejo said it would also encourage the quality teaching in schools.

 

He called for more support for the council to deliver on their mandate in ensuring that Nigerian teachers were licensed to do their jobs.

 

 

Speaking with some of the candidates, they expressed confidence in the examinations, saying that it would help to wield out quacks from the system.