77,000 sit for Teachers’ Professional Qualification Examination (PQE)

Image credit: africanakua.com

77,000 write Teachers’ Professional Qualification Examination (PQE)

PQE is the professional qualification exam to license teachers.

Eviction of unlicensed teachers by Federal Government commences January 2020

Around 77,000 prospective teachers wrote the December diet of the Professional Qualification Examination (PQE) for teachers conducted by the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).

See also A schoolgirl takes own life after being shamed for having period stain

Mallam Adamu Adamu, the Education Minister, who supervised the exercise at a centre in Abuja, admitted that the PQE has helped in cleansing the teaching profession, hence granting only qualified and licensed teachers access to the classrooms.

Dr Sonny Echono, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, who represented the Minister of Education, implied that the door would not totally be shut against those who were yet to get certified, even though the enforcement would commence January 2020, as originally scheduled.

He added that PQE would continue, only that that December diet was the last before the deadline as earlier stated by the Federal Government.

The Minister of Education further hinted that they would consider giving another chance, probably, the following year so that the unlicensed could get the qualifications and then would luckily be welcome back into the profession.

He emphasized that they could opt for other professions other than teaching if they fail to get TRCN certification.

Prof Josiah Ajiboye, TRCN register, on his part, said that the exercise was successful across all locations except in Ekiti State where it was provisionally suspended due to some technical issues that were beyond the control of the registation council.

Prof Ajiboye revealed that 8000 candidates wrote the examination at two Lagos State centres – the highest recorded number of candidates in the federation.

That was the last PQE for the year 2019 just before the implementation of the planned eviction of unregistered teachers from classrooms in January 2020.

The Federal Government had in earlier in 2017 directed teachers to obtain the professional licence being issued by TRCN to retain their teaching appointments after January 2020.