375 teachers sit professional exam in Kaduna

No fewer than 375 teachers in Kaduna State have registered for the second batch of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE).

The Kaduna State Coordinator and North-West Zonal Coordinator of TRCN, Esther Ayubanata, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen during the examination in Kaduna on Saturday, November 14, 2026.

Ayubanata said the examination was designed to assess teachers’ professional competence and ensure that only qualified and certified individuals were allowed to teach in Nigerian schools.

Ayubanata emphasised that teaching was a specialised profession that required adequate training, certification and licensing.

She said: “Our vision is to ensure that every teacher in the classroom is first trained, certified and licensed by TRCN to enable them to effectively impart knowledge to pupils and students.

“Just like other professional bodies, you cannot afford to have quacks in the teaching profession. Every teacher must obtain TRCN certification to qualify to teach.”

Ayubanata attributed the reduction in the number of candidates compared to previous examinations with the adoption of online registration and the prevailing economic challenges, which had made it difficult for some teachers to pay the registration fees.

Ayubanata added that candidates with a Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.), or a bachelor’s degree with Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) or Professional Diploma in Education (PDE) were eligible to sit for the examination.

She said successful candidates would be issued professional certificates, which would enhance their recognition and mobility within and outside Nigeria.

The coordinator further disclosed that TRCN had commenced a nationwide compliance exercise to ensure that teachers in public and private schools were duly registered and licensed.

According to her, the exercise involves visiting schools to verify the professional status of teachers, with the aim of achieving 100 per cent compliance.

She urged teachers without the required professional qualifications to take advantage of the Accelerated Teachers Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP), introduced by the Federal Ministry of Education, TRCN and the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI).

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Ayubanata explained that the six-month programme was designed for individuals already teaching but yet to obtain the requisite professional qualifications.

Ayubanata said the programme would provide the beneficiaries with the necessary training and opportunity to obtain professional certification and registration with TRCN.

She warned that teachers who failed to meet the requirements or refused to take advantage of the programme risked losing their jobs.

The TRCN coordinator commended the Kaduna State chapter of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) for supporting teachers to participate in the examination across the state’s 33 local government areas.

One of the candidates, Umar Mayere, a Graduate Assistant at the Faculty of Education, Gombe State University, described the examination as important for all teachers, irrespective of their level of teaching.

Mayere said TRCN certification demonstrated a teacher’s professional competence and qualification to practise in educational institutions.