ABUJA – The Federal Ministry of Education has directed that accreditation of both public and private secondary schools for the conduct of public examinations, WASSCE, NABTEB, NECO, and NBIAS, shall henceforth be contingent on the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) certification of teachers engaged in such schools.
The Ministry said the decision was in line with government policy to strengthen the teaching profession, insisting that secondary school teachers in the country must obtain the proper certification, otherwise such schools will not be allowed to serve as an examination centre.
Minister of Education Dr Tunji Alausa, in a letter to the Registrar/Chief Executive of TRCN, Dr Ronke Soyombo, noted that, effective from March 2027 for WASSCE, May 2027 for NABTEB, June 2027 for NECO, and June 2027 for SAISSCE, any school whose teachers are not duly registered and licensed with the TRCN shall be disqualified from serving as an examination centre.
He also notified state governments about the decision, requesting them to take due cognisance of the directive and put in place necessary measures to ensure that all teachers in state-owned secondary schools and private secondary schools obtain the requisite TRCN certification within the stipulated two years from the date of the policy directive.
He also indicated that compliance with the directive shall be monitored, with schools expected to achieve a minimum compliance rate of 75 per cent by 2026 and full compliance of 100 per cent by 2027.
The Minister noted that teachers who are non-education graduates but possess not less than 12 months of classroom teaching experience are encouraged to enrol in the abridged professional certification programme offered through the National Teachers Institute (NTI).
“The programme consists of short professional courses lasting between three and six months, after which participants will qualify for TRCN registration and licensing,” he noted.
