The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), in collaboration with Plan International Nigeria has trained teachers from different fields of learning, ahead of its reformed Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE).
Speaking with newsmen at the five-day technical workshop on the “Reformed Professional Qualifying Examination and Digital Literacy Model Design on Friday in Abuja, Dr Ronke Soyombo said that the new PQE streamlined 23 subjects into five.
Soyombo, who is the Registrar of TRCN, listed the streamlined subjects to include competency domains: literacy, numeracy, digital literacy, pedagogy and safeguarding, saying this would enhance improved learner outcomes.
She said, in the last four months, 26,000 teachers had registered for the forthcoming PQE, saying by 2027 every practicing teacher must be registered as a TRCN professional teacher.
“So, everything is about standard to us. And as a result, we are focusing on foundation literacy, mathematics, digital literacy, pedagogy and safeguarding.
“For Safeguarding, we are very particular about it, because every child in Nigeria needs to feel safe in our schools. So, teachers must be able to know what is expected of them.
“When a child makes a disclosure to them, teachers must be able to know that there are supports for them also, if they are being abused as well.
“Because we are not just looking at how students are being abused, we are also looking at how teachers can be abused in some cases,” she added.
She said that the participants were selected from the basic education background, from tertiary education, maths specialists, literacy specialists, IT specialists and also safeguard specialist.
“So, what we did is to ensure that everybody is selected from different areas so that places are properly covered and professionally covered as well,” she said.
On his part, Prof. Gbenga Adewole, a Researcher with University of Ibadan, underscored the need to design a digital literacy training model for improved learning outcomes.
Also speaking, Mr Tanimudari Zakari, Project Coordinator, Plan International Nigeria, said that Nigeria’s teacher certification is being modernised to better align with real classroom needs, especially in crisis contexts such as Adamawa and Sokoto.
Zakari explained that simplified, competency-based PQE: TRCN’s reform moves from 23 subjects to five core domains, Literacy, Numeracy, Digital Literacy, Pedagogy, and Safeguarding, aligned with global standards and classroom realities.
“Nigeria is modernising teacher certification to meet real classroom needs, especially in crisis-affected states like Adamawa and Sokoto.
“Digital-by-design: Roll-out of a Digital Teacher Registration and Licensing Portal plus a Digital Literacy Training Model will enhance teachers’ readiness for the new PQE,” he said.
According to him, teacher wellbeing and retention, professional development, psychosocial support and community integration will keep teachers in hard-to-serve locations.
He, further, noted TRCN and Plan International Nigeria partnership as a catalyst for education reforms that translate into better learning for every child as well as advancing teacher professionalisation and classroom results across Nigeria.
The project coordinator said that the organisation’s bold ambition is to empower 20 million girls to take action and drive change by 2028 and increase advocacy momentum for strategic education reviews.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.
NAN also reports that participants at the workshop were TRCN management, Federal Ministry of Education, selected universities and colleges of education, curriculum/assessment experts, Plan International Nigeria, QEDA and development partners/CSOs.(NAN)
