The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, TRCN, has endorsed the Federal Government’s Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway, ATPP.
The initiative targets the professional training and licensing of more than 250,000 serving teachers who lack recognised teaching qualifications.
The programme is designed to help unqualified teachers in public and private schools acquire the training needed to meet professional standards and get certified.
A statement issued by TRCN’s Head of Media, Esther Chiwar, explained the arrangement.
Under the programme, participants who successfully complete the prescribed ATPP examination will proceed to the Professional Qualifying Examination, PQE, conducted by TRCN before being registered as qualified teachers and issued professional licences.
The initiative is being spearheaded by the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, and 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, with support from 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 is aimed at addressing the longstanding challenge of teachers already in classrooms but without professional teaching qualifications or licences.
According to the programme framework, some affected teachers hold degrees in disciplines other than education and entered teaching without undergoing recognised teacher training.
This has limited their access to certain professional opportunities and exposed them to possible regulatory sanctions.
The ATPP is expected to give such teachers a chance to acquire professional qualifications without 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 complete the programme successfully will be required to take the TRCN Professional Qualifying Examination, 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, drawn from federal, state and local government levels across the country.
Digital Operations Manager at The Students Forum Nigeria.
