Victor Ezeja
President of the Forum of South-east Academic Doctors (FOSAD), Dr Steve Nwala, has raised concerns on the implications of revenue generation activities by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), as a professional body.
Dr Nwala expressed his concerns while reacting to recent developments in the council, including the resignation of the TRCN Registrar, Professor Josiah Ajiboye.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAjiboye’s exit from TRCN leadership comes one year after Professor Abubakar Abdulrasheed resigned his position as Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC).
Ajiboye, whose reason for resignation is yet to be known, came into the office in 2016 under former President Muhammadu Buhari administration. He is credited with transforming the TRCN and ensuring that only certified teachers are recognised as professionals in the field.
Under his leadership, TRCN was classified as a revenue-generating body, which made the Federal Government to stop funding the body. The decision has faced backlash from various education stakeholders who argue that it undermines the agency’s effectiveness.
Commenting on the TRCN’s revenue generation drive, Nwala said the council is a professional body created for every passionate and qualified teacher to belong and to be held in high esteem.
He pointed out that TRCN was originally designed to serve for teachers, the purpose that other professional associations do, like the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for Lawyers, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) for Medical Doctors, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) for Engineers, and many others.
The FOSAD president also expressed worry about what he called “the silent frustrations” associated with the Council that could have led to Professor Ajiboye’s resignation.
He said: “I am very passionate about this Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) as a Foundation School Teacher and that is informing my interest to react to this very development.
“This body as a matter of general overview should be and must have been envisaged to serve the same purpose to the Teacher as the Nigerian Bar Association NBA to Lawyers, Nigerian Medical Association NMA to Medical Doctors, Nigerian Society of Engineers NSE to Engineers and is to be highly esteemed for a true aspiring professional Teacher to belong.
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“My worry now is not just the silent frustrations associated with the council leading to this resignation and many other unspoken disenchantment from people both inside the council and some of us the onlookers.
“I want to be particular with the impression created by this alleged classification as a “revenue-generating body.”
The legal expert said observed that unlike other professional bodies, TRCN seem to have gone bellow standards by going to enforce compulsory registration of graduating students in tertiary institutions into the council.
He also faulted the current mode of induction into TRCN which he said has become “an all comers affair.”
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“Unlike the aforementioned professional bodies among many more, where a law student for instance would complete a 5-year training from the University before aspiring to the law school, the TRCN seem to have gone far below the standards by going to graduating students in institutions for compulsory registration into the council and I wonder if one has to belong to the Nigeria Medical Association before writing his final year examinations in the University.
“On the other hand, while the induction into this body was exclusive to Teachers in public schools, it gradually became an all comers affair even when the so called public school Teachers could hardly fill the registration forms without help.”
“Now that we have resorted to acquiring certificates by all means, mainly to enrich our profile and to attract (if even significant) higher pay in our respective places of work, I dare to ask, who will bell the cat in sanitising our education industry? Who should we cry to and who actually is/are responsible for these rot?” he further asked.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
