A total of 3,650 teachers have failed the annual Professional Qualifying Examination conducted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, TCRN, across the country.
The examination, which was the second in a series to be conducted by TRCN for 2020, had a total of 17,602 candidates tested, to qualify as professional teachers.
The Registrar of TRCN, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, who disclosed the details of the examination to newsmen, lamented that Nigeria had only about 2.2 million qualified teachers for its teeming pupils.
The teachers’ regulatory board helmsman, however, said the testing of teachers in the basic education sector, was to ensure an improvement in the quality of learning and teaching.
He, however, explained that a larger number of teachers, who participated in the testing process were successful.
He explained that a total of 17,602 candidates sat for the examination while 11, 487 passed.
His words: “11,487 passed which is 75.9percent, while 3,650 candidates failed, which is 24.1 per cent.”
“TRCN mobilised over 60,000 teachers for various digital skills training in 2020 in collaboration with other relevant bodies”.
Prof Ajiboye warned that the TRCN will in not too distant time release the present data of quacks operating in the nation’s teaching profession.
Decrying the challenges of the teaching profession, the TRCN boss expressed delight at the announcement of a special salary package for teachers by the President.
He, however, called on the National Assembly to intervene in amending relevant laws to allow the increase in years of service and retirement for teachers.