Teachers across Nigeria may soon face a major shake-up as the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) moves to ensure that only professionally certified and licensed teachers remain in classrooms.
The Council says its target is to achieve at least 75 per cent professional certification among teachers by the end of 2026, before moving to full enforcement of licensing requirements by December 2027.
TRCN Registrar, Dr Ronke Soyombo, who disclosed this in a report cited by The Nation, said the reforms were designed to raise professional standards and restore confidence in the teaching profession.
She warned that by December 2027, teachers without valid TRCN licences would no longer be permitted to teach.
As part of the enforcement drive, Soyombo said schools seeking to register candidates for public examinations, including National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations, would be monitored to determine whether they meet the required 75 per cent certification threshold.
The Council is also introducing major changes to its Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE), with candidates now expected to take examinations corresponding to the academic qualifications they are presenting for registration.
Under the new system, a PhD holder will sit for a PhD-level examination, while holders of first degrees and Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) qualifications will take examinations at their respective levels.
Soyombo said the new examination structure would begin with the November diet.
She also warned candidates against attempting to upgrade the qualification attached to an earlier examination after obtaining a higher academic degree.
According to her, the date a qualification was obtained will determine the appropriate examination and registration category. A candidate who obtained a doctorate before taking the PQE, for instance, would be required to sit for the PhD-level examination.
Beyond certification, the TRCN is also upgrading the technology used for its examinations.
Soyombo said the Council inherited a testing platform that could handle only about 120 candidates at a time, forcing examinations to be conducted over several days as demand increased.
The new platform, however, can reportedly accommodate up to 5,000 candidates simultaneously.
The upgrade is expected to allow examinations to hold at the same time across different states, depending on the capacity of available Computer-Based Test centres.
The growing demand for professional certification was highlighted by the May 2026 examination, which attracted more than 26,000 candidates nationwide.
Soyombo said the Council was also working on a broader professional framework that would take account of the different categories and areas of specialisation within Nigeria’s education sector.
The reforms are expected to bring tighter regulation to the teaching profession, with professional certification and licensing becoming increasingly central to who is allowed to teach in Nigerian classrooms.
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