Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
No fewer than 836 graduates of Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, (NOCEN) Anambra State have been inducted as qualified teachers by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).
The inductees were among the successful students who sat for the 2018 professional qualifying examination to be recognized and registered as teachers in Nigeria. Out of 988 students who took the professional exams, 836 students were successful while 152 others failed.
Those inducted include graduates from Professional Diploma in Education (PDE), Bacholers of Education (B. ED) and National Certificate for Education (NCE) graduands.
The Registrar/Chief Executive of TRCN, Prof Josiah Ajiboye while administering the oath, said that the event was most important legal basis of admission into the profession and a condition for a professional practice.
“Please note that any breach of the law, particularly on the oath, calls for sanction. The oath administration symbolises your admission into the profession and you have been accepted into the teaching profession”.
Ajiboye who was represented by TRCN Director of Operations, Mr. Adam Bello said that the council was established by Decree 31 of 1993 now Act Cap T3 of 2004 to regulate and control the teaching profession in all aspects and ramifications and at all levels of the education system in the country.
“A very important aspect of the mandates is that TRCN shall determine for Nigeria who is teacher, the standard of knowledge and skills required to be a teacher, and to raise such standard of knowledge and skills required to be a teacher and to raise such standards from time to time.
“Teachers are indispensable in human capital development efforts of any nation. Teachers are the ones charged with the responsibility of transmitting organised learning experience to be ahead of their pupils most especially in this 21st century where digital literacy rules the world.
In her address, the Provost of NOCEN, Dr. Ifeyinwa Osegbo charged the new teachers to be good ambassadors of the institution and should not compromise the ethics of the profession and always sustain the standard of eduction.
She stressed that there is concern about the low quality of education which she said was often attributed to low quality teachers and its attendant poor quality service delivery considering the danger of the situation on the nations economic and social growth.
“It is commendable that those who have proven themselves worthy in both character and learning as required by the college have equally demonstrated their professional skills as required by TRCN. I’m very happy and proud of the inductees and all stakeholders that have worked together to achieve this great feat”.
Osegbo commended TRCN for conducting professional examination across the country and also released the result, promising that those who failed the profession exam have opportunity to retake it in order to be qualify to be a teacher in the country.
Earlier in her speech, the chairman TRCN induction committee, Dame Chika Osinomumu said that history was made in the institution through the induction ceremony for PDE, B. ED and NCE graduands.
“I appreciate the roles played by TRCN in ensuring that the teaching profession is highly regulated, controlled and membership classified. I urge you never to relent in your indefatigable tasks towards repositioning the teaching profession” she declared.
In his response after the induction on behalf of others, Innocent Okonkwo thanked the management and staff of the NOCEN for imparting knowledge in them to graduate as teachers and commended the TRCN for accepting them as professional teachers in the country.