The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) says it will license more than 250,000 serving but unqualified teachers through the federal government’s accelerated teacher professionalisation pathway (ATPP).
The council said the programme would provide non-professional teachers in public and private schools with a route to acquire the necessary training, certification and professional licence to teach.
The ATPP will be implemented in cohorts, with candidates required to pass the prescribed ATPP examination before becoming eligible to sit the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) organised by TRCN.
Successful candidates will then be registered as qualified teachers and issued professional licences.
The initiative is led by Tunji Alausa, minister of education, and coordinated by a technical working group chaired by Suwaiba Ahmad, minister of state for education.
TRCN and the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, will drive 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).
TRCN said the programme was designed to address the longstanding challenge of teachers working in classrooms without recognised professional qualifications or licences.
It said many of the affected teachers hold degrees in their subject areas but did not undergo recognised teacher-training programmes, leaving them unable to obtain professional licences or progress fully in their careers.
The council said the ATPP would allow such teachers to acquire the required professional qualifications while remaining in service.
The six-month programme offers two pathways: a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) for graduates of non-education disciplines and a Professional Diploma in Education (PDE) for those from the National Diploma cadre.
The programme combines four months of blended learning, including self-paced online modules, virtual facilitation and assessments, with two months of supervised teaching practice in participants’ schools.
Participants who successfully complete the programme will then sit the TRCN PQE, after which those who meet the requirements will be certified and licensed.
TRCN said certification and licensing costs would be covered by the programme fee.
The council said about 250,000 teachers would participate nationwide, with participants mapped across federal, state and local government levels.
