By Felix Khanoba
The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN):has endorsed the Federal Government’s Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP), an initiative targeting the professional training and licensing of more than 250,000 serving teachers without recognised teaching qualifications.
The programme is designed to provide unqualified teachers working in public and private schools with the training required to meet professional teaching standards and obtain certification.
A statement issued by TRCN’s Head of Media, Esther Chiwar, under the arrangement, participants who successfully complete the prescribed ATPP examination will proceed to the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) conducted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria before they can be registered as qualified teachers and issued professional licences.
The initiative, spearheaded by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa (FAMedS),, is being implemented through a Technical Working Group headed by Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad.
TRCN and the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, are expected to lead the implementation of the programme, with the involvement of other education agencies, including the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).
The programme seeks to address the longstanding challenge of teachers who are already in classrooms but lack professional teaching qualifications or licences.
According to the programme framework, some of the affected teachers possess degrees in disciplines other than education and entered the teaching profession without undergoing recognised teacher-training programmes. This has also limited their access to certain professional opportunities and exposed them to possible regulatory sanctions.
The ATPP is expected to provide such teachers with an opportunity to acquire professional qualifications without necessarily leaving their current jobs.
The six-month programme has two pathways: the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) for graduates of non-education disciplines and the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE) for candidates from the National Diploma cadre.
Participants will undergo four months of blended training involving self-paced online learning, virtual facilitation and assessments, followed by two months of supervised teaching practice in their respective schools.
Those who successfully complete the programme will be required to take the TRCN Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE), after which successful candidates can proceed with professional certification and licensing.
The programme fee is expected to cover the certification and licensing components.
The Federal Government plans to enrol about 250,000 teachers under the ATPP, with participants drawn from federal, state and local government levels across the country.
