CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTION ESTABLISHMENT OF TEACHERS REGISTRATION COUNCIL OF NIGERIA (TRCN) The Council was established by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria Decree (now Act) 31 of 1993. Several decades of agitation by professional teachers and other stakeholders for the establishment of a regulatory agency led to the enactment of the Act. The Council finally became operational by June 2000 with the appointment of a Registrar/Chief Executive by the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. Between 2000 and 2005, the Council recorded an 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 have been registered. The registration cut 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, virtually all lecturers in the Colleges of Education nationwide, some teachers in the polytechnics, many lecturers and professors from the universities, and many teachers in administrative positions in the education system including Directors of Education, Permanent Secretaries, Honourable 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 employing them as teachers. The year 2005 and beyond holds the promise that through the humble efforts of the Council, sanity will be restored in the teaching and teachers can begin to enjoy the standards of theory and practice, rights, privileges, opportunities, dignity and good life hitherto reserved for only their counterparts in the legal, medical, engineering and other noble professions. 1.2 MANDATES OF TRCN The Act that established the Council in section 1(1) charged it with the following responsibilities: (i) Determining who are teachers for the purpose of this Act. (ii) Determining what standards of knowledge and skill are to be attained by persons seeking to become registered as teachers under this Act and raising those standards from time to time as circumstances may permit. (iii) Securing in accordance with the provisions of this Act the establishment and maintenance of a register of teachers and the publication from time to time of the lists of those persons. (iv) Regulating and controlling the teaching profession in all its aspects and ramifications. (v) Classifying from time to time members of the teaching profession according to their level of training and qualification. (vi) Performing through the Council established under this Act the functions conferred on it by this Act. 1.3 IMPLICATIONS OF TRCN MANDATES The TRCN Act has far-reaching implications for teaching profession. This reality can be appreciated by the fact that the content of the TRCN Act is one and the same with the contents of the Acts that established the Councils that regulate and control the professions of Law, Medicine, Engineering, Pharmacy, etc. It suffices therefore to state that teachers will henceforth undergo all those necessary intellectual, professional, moral, social, and even psychological rigors characteristic of the other noble professions and which have set them far apart from quacks and lay people. Also, as it is applicable to the other professions, no category of teachers is exempted from regulation and control no matter how highly placed. It is obvious that all medical doctors, lawyers, engineers, pharmacists, etc at all levels of our national life, both in the public and private sectors submit to the provisions of the Acts regulating their respective professions. In the same way, all persons who perform jobs that rightly and legally constitute teaching as well as those who administer teaching and learning in the Nigerian education system must be trained teachers, registered and regulated. 1.4 PROGRAMMES AND ACTIVITIES OF TRCN In accordance with the TRCN legal provisions and conventions common to the professional regulatory agencies, the Council is systematically implementing the following programmes and activities: (i) Registration and licensing of qualified teachers. (ii) Accreditation, monitoring and supervision of the courses and programmes of teacher training institutions in Nigeria to ensure that they meet national and international minimum standards. The institutions include the Colleges of Education, Faculties and Institutes of Education in Nigerian Universities, Schools of Education in the Polytechnics, and the National Teachers Institute. (iii) Organisation of Internship Schemes for fresh Education graduates to equip them with the necessary professional skills before licensing them for full professional practice. (iv) Conduct of professional examinations and interviews to determine teachers suitable for registration. This clearly shows that the existing practice of registering teachers upon presentation of certificates alone is a grace that will expire soonest. All those unable to take advantage of the grace must have to write and pass challenging examinations before they can be registered. (v) Execution of Mandatory Continuing Professional Education (MCPE) to guarantee that teachers keep abreast of developments in the theory and practice of the profession. (vi) Organise Annual Conference of Registered Teachers which is the first of its kind in Nigeria and will unit all teachers irrespective of social class or the level of education system to which they belong. (vii) Publish a register of qualified and licensed teacher in Nigeria which will be a public document displayed and obtainable from the Local Government through State to the Federal offices. The register will also be on the world wide web for the consumption of the international community. (viii) Enforce ethical conduct among teachers and actually prosecute erring ones using the Teachers Tribunal which has powers under law to met out punishments. (ix) Prosecute in the law court all unqualified persons performing the job of teachers in contravention of the TRCN Act. (ix) Act as the voice of the voiceless teachers and continuously initiate/actualize public policies and practices that will reposition the teaching profession as first among equals. In strategizing to accomplish these programmes and activities the Council regularly consults the following stakeholders, among others: (i) Honourable Minister of Education. (ii) Federal Ministry of Education and its parastatals and agencies. (iii) National Council on Education, which is the highest decision making body on Education in Nigeria . (iv) Executive Governors of the various States of the country. (v) Honourable Commissioners of Education of the States. (vi) State Ministries of Education and their parastatals (SPEB, SEMB, TESCOM). (vii) Senate and House Committees on Education in the National Assembly. (viii) Vice Chancellors of Universities, Rectors of Polytechnics, and Provosts of Colleges of Education. (ix) Deans of Faculties and Directors of Institutes of Education in the Universities. (x) Nigerian Academy of Education. (xi) Teachers unions and associations – NUT, COEASU, ANCOPSS, STAN, COPSHON, etc. (xii) Associations of Proprietors of Private Schools. (xiii) The media and a vide range of other stakeholders.
|