Introduction
The agitation by teachers and stakeholders for the establishment of a regulatory body for the teaching profession spanned decades. The climax was the unprecedented nationwide strike in 1992 by the Nigeria Union of Teachers which made the establishment of the body one of the conditions for calling off the strike. The Federal Government accepted the condition and in 1993 enacted the TEACHERS REGISTRATION COUNCIL OF NIGERIA (TRCN) ACT NO. 31 OF 1993.
The actual implementation of the Act began in 1999 with the appointment of a Registrar/Chief Executive in the person of Anjikwi M. Ciwar, still the current CEO. TRCN ran skeletal activities from June 2000 to mid 2002. Full staffing and nationwide operations commenced from mid 2002. Today TRCN is a household name in the Nigerian Education system.
TRCN TAKE-OFF
The Council became operational by June 2000 with the appointment of a Registrar/Chief Executive in the person of Chief Anjikwi Musa Ciwar (OON) by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. From 2000 to 2005, the Council recorded unprecedented success in institutionalizing itself as a national organization. It attracted a core of motivated and technically efficient staff from diverse sectors of the economy and the education system. All states of the Federation including the Federal Capital Territory had a fair share of this core of staff as their indigenes. Similarly the Council opened offices in 34 states and went a step further to commence the acquisition and commissioning of zonal offices, two in each geo-political zone making a total of twelve for the country.
The quick spread of the Council across the country was made possible by the overwhelming support received from the Executive Governors of the various states, together with their Ministries and parastatals of Education, the Nigeria Union of Teachers, the Vice Chancellors of universities, Rectors of polytechnics, Provosts of Colleges of Education, and other stakeholders. Indeed, most of the state and some zonal offices were donated and furnished by the State Governments to literarily demonstrate their support to the professionalisation of teaching.
By early 2005, over five hundred thousand teachers had been registered. The registration cuts across all levels of the education system- primary, secondary and tertiary – in the public as well as private educational institutions. The registration covered over 90 % of teachers in the public primary and secondary schools in the country, some teachers in the private schools, some teachers in polytechnics, many lecturers and professors from the universities, and many teachers in administrative positions in the education system including Directors of Education, Permanent Secretaries, Honorable Commissioners and Ministers of Education, Vice Chancellors and veteran teachers.
The Council also registered a significant number of Nigerians abroad who applied for registration because the foreign countries like Britain , Australia , Canada , and United States of America required evidence of such registration before registering them as teachers.