The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has endorsed the Federal Government’s Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP), a six-month programme aimed at providing a route to professional certification and licensing for more than 250,000 serving but unqualified teachers nationwide.
A Statement approved by Head Media TRCN, Esther Chiwar has disclosed
According to the Statement, the programme, which will be implemented in cohorts, is designed to equip untrained teachers in public and private schools with the requisite professional skills and qualifications to teach effectively.
Under the arrangement, candidates who successfully complete the prescribed ATPP examination will be eligible to sit for the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) conducted by TRCN before being registered as qualified teachers and issued professional licences.
The initiative is being led by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, while its implementation is being coordinated by a Technical Working Group chaired by Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad.
TRCN, in collaboration with the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, will drive the implementation, with support from 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 ATPP is designed to address the longstanding challenge of teachers without professional teaching qualifications or licences serving in classrooms across the country.
According to the council, many of the affected teachers possess degrees in various subject areas but did not undergo recognised teacher-training programmes, limiting their professional progression and exposing them to possible regulatory sanctions.
The new pathway is intended to bridge the gap by providing such teachers with an opportunity to acquire professional teaching qualifications while remaining in service.
The six-month programme provides two qualification routes: 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.
The programme will combine four months of blended learning, comprising self-paced online modules, virtual facilitation and assessments, with two months of supervised teaching practice in the participants’ schools.
Upon successful completion, participants will proceed to the TRCN Professional Qualifying Examination, with certification and licensing costs covered by the programme fee.
Officials said about 250,000 teachers are expected to participate in the initiative, with beneficiaries mapped across the federal, state and local government levels.
