Teachers Council Declares War On Quacks, Inducts 270

Worried by the large number of unqualified people in the teaching profession, the Teacher's Registration Council of Nigeria, TRCN, said it had declared war against those it described as quacks, but found themselves in the classrooms. The registrar and chief executed officer of TRCN, Prof Olusegun Ajiboye, who spoke during the induction of 270 teachers at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka said the unqualified teachers were cheats whose activities were contributing to the seeming low standard of teaching in Nigeria. According to Ajiboye, teaching was no longer an all comers affair, but a noble and prestigious affair. He said: "Nigeria needs teachers who will meet the expectations of the nation; teachers who will help the nation to raise a generation of citizens whose performance will meet the international standards; a generation who will be insightful, futuristic, vibrant and peaceful. "We cannot achieve the expected quality education without competent teachers and educational administrators, well equipped with the desirable knowledge, skills and effective operations of the education system." He explained that in a bid to expand access to teacher education, TRCN had developed programmes of study, including Professional Diploma in Education, PDE, the Post-Doctoral Diploma in Education, PDDE, and the Post Graduate Diploma in Education, PGDE, which were the national benchmark, advising teachers who do not have teaching qualification to avail themselves of the opportunity provided by the programmes. He urged the inducted teachers to accord their new status with the highest level of seriousness and commitment to professionalism. Chairman of the event, Prof Gab Unachukwu, described the inductees as lucky because they were inducted with first degree and diploma certificates at the same time, noting that it took many people, including professors, many years to be inducted.