Teachers are to be appraised periodically, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has said.
It warned that any teacher who failed the assessment would be shown the way out.
This was part of the communiqué of the TRCN National Training of the Trainer (ToT) workshop on Implementation of the Professional Standard for Nigerian Teachers held at the University of Ibadan.
To filter quacks from the system, TRCN urged the government to accept its certificates for employment in the state and the Federal civil service.
The Council is planning to adopt a code of dressing for teachers. It said it would partner the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and other relevant bodies in this drive for professionalism.
“Teachers should be examined periodically to validate their licences. Teachers that do not meet certain standards could be allowed to undergo in-service, in-house training or even a full-time programme, and those who are not able to cope should be shown the way out of the classroom,” the TRCN stated.
While the Council vows that the era of treating erring teachers with kid gloves was over, it, recommended handsome rewards for those found to be outstanding. It also advised the government against recruiting non-educationists as policy makers on education.
Lecturers in Universities are not exempted. The Council, which has come up with the Post-Doctoral Diploma in Education (PDDE), admonished their colleagues with PhD to enrol for it.
Other recommendations include TRCN working with private school owners to ensure compliance with the TRCN Act; extension of teaching practice (TP); allowing beginner- teachers to acquire TRCN certificate before being licensed; as well as TRCN’s involvement in accreditation of teacher education programme in tertiary institutions in the country.
The communiqué, which comprised 12 members, was signed by TRCN Registrar/CEO Prof Josiah Olusegun Ajiboye.
The three-day conference, which featured 203 participants, had as its keynote speaker Emeritus Professor Pai Obanya, who delivered a paper on the theme: ‘The indispensability of teachers professional standard.’
Other stakeholders included representatives from NUT, National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), National Teachers Institute (NTI), Federal Ministry of Education, and Vice Chancellors.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Education Prof Anthony Onwuka, represented by the Minister for Education Mallam Adamu Adamu, re-emphasised the commitment of the Federal Government to professionalise teaching across all levels.
Onwuka urged lecturers to take advantage of PDDE, adding that from 2008, the Federal Government would move against misfits in the system regardless of their positions.
Source: Nation
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