3,963 teachers fail qualifying exam nationwide

The Registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, has said 3,963 teachers who sat for the November 2023 diet of the Professional Qualifying Examination for teachers across the country failed.

The November diet, conducted by the TRCN to test the professional knowledge of those in the teaching profession, commenced on November 23 and ended on November 25.

AJiboyi, during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, said a total of 15,753 teachers sat for the examination at 38 centres across the country, out of which 10,636 (72.9 per cent) passed and 3,963 failed.

“I think you will agree with me that it is a very good result as 72.9% of the candidates actually passed. Yes. That’s 10,600 seats out of 15,753, you agree with me that is a very good result. So, that is where we are presently,” he said.

He said other candidates were absent while others had their results cancelled due to examination malpractices and that all cases of malpractices reported were treated accordingly at the management level and their result was cancelled.

“All cases of examination malpractice were identified; they were caught on records because we have evidence against them. And then the cases were treated and discussed at the management level and their results were cancelled,” he said.

He said the council would continue to work towards the improvement of the teaching profession in Nigeria.

Speaking on qualified teachers, he said the council had 2.3 million teachers now registered, out of which over 400 000 had been licensed.

He said the council would beam its searchlight on the private schools in 2024, saying, “Over 83 per cent of teachers in public schools in Nigeria are qualified. The same thing cannot be said of teachers in private school.”

“A large percentage, less than 50 per cent of teachers in private schools are qualified. So, a large percentage of teachers in private schools are not even teachers in the first instance. They are not qualified to be in the class because a large number of them did not really do anything. They just find themselves doing the job,” he said.

While noting that it is getting clearer that teaching is not an all comers jobs, he said the council would take it up with states that were yet to employ teachers in the last 10 years, saying “In some states, you will see two to four teachers taking care of all the school with little knowledge on any subjects they teach.

Reacting to the failure of teachers, an educationist, Michael Sule, told Daily Trust that many teachers were not computer illiterate.

“Another factor is that many teachers have not been exposed to regular on the job training and as such may fail exams. So, it is important that they get training as regularly as possible and have adequate preparation before the examination, because teachers failing examinations doesn’t speak well of our education system,” he said.

Chairman, Association of Model Islamic Schools, Abuja Chapter and Founder, Voyage International Schools Abuja, Mallam Yussuff Oriyomi, stressed the need to ensure that the very best apply and study education at tertiary institutions.

“We can’t go far with accidental teachers. All stakeholders need to ensure we retain the very best to engage in teaching and reward them properly.

“As a nation, we need to invest more in teachers’ education, reward teachers and retain them through special offers such as special housing loans, free or discounted education for teachers’ children, among other incentives,” he said.