TRCN conducts Professional Qualifying Examination for 16,614 candidates nationwide

 No fewer than 16,614 candidates enrolled to sit for the November Diet of the Teachers’ Professional Qualifying Examination, PQE, conducted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, TRCN, across the country.

The examination conducted in Abuja and major city centres in the country was observed to be hitch-free, while officials of the Federal Ministry of Education monitored the process.

But beyond the conduct of the examination, the Council now under the leadership of Acting Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Dr Stella-Maria Nwokeocha is undergoing financial challenges, following the delisting of the agency from those funded directly by the federal government.

Lamenting the situation, Dr Nwokeocha said the agency has had to cut down its operational costs and merely depend on development partners to exist.

According to the Ag Registrar, it has been harrowing taking staff on training and paying emoluments.

Her words, “We met so many challenges but we try to cut down on cost, everything boils down to sacrifice, for instance, staff of the agency I praise them for that because they have been very understanding. For something like training, we had to cut down on drastically that, instead, we do group training.

“We are calling for improved funding, I have to be open with you, some development partners are helping us in certain ways but we cannot rely on that alone, we are asking the government to put us back in its funding plan, even if they cannot put us back, they can decide to take up payment of staff salaries”.

Director, Certification and Licencing, TRCN, Dr Jacinta Ezeahurukwe, who spoke with newsmen on Saturday, noted that the PQE is designed to test the professional knowledge of those in the teaching profession.

According to her, it was a prerequisite for licencing and certification of teachers before being allowed to teach in the classrooms in Nigeria.