No fewer than 526 teachers and lecturers in Kogi are writing the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE), Batch A, 2020, conducted by the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN). Mrs Zainab Lawal, the Kogi State Coordinator of TRCN, disclosed this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the venue of the ongoing PQE Batch A, 2020, on Friday in Lokoja.
Lawal told NAN that a total of 526 teachers of primary, secondary schools, and lecturers from tertiary institutions across the state were writing the PQE, which started on Wednesday and to be rounded up on Saturday.
According to her, the examination was supposed to hold for a day but was extended to four days so as to ensure strict compliance with the guidelines and protocols of NCDC against the Covid-19 pandemic.
She noted that the PQE was first conducted in 2008 to address the problem of unqualified teachers teaching in schools across the nation.
The coordinator explained that the PQE was designed for NCE, Degree, Masters and PhD holders including Professors, saying their questions varied according to their categories.
She stressed that all teachers must sit and pass the examination before they would be considered as qualified teachers.
She, however, urged the State Government through the Ministry of Education to ensure training and retraining of teachers especially in ICT, in order to enhance their capacity for quality education delivery.
Also speaking, the Kogi Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Wemi Jones, who monitored the examination, expressed satisfaction with its conduct.
The commissioner, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Pastor Emmanuel Idenyi, commended the TRCN for the proper arrangements put in place in line with the NCDC guidelines and protocols against the coronavirus pandemic.
He promised that the ministry would do its best to ensure continuous training and retraining of teachers at all levels in the state.
One of the candidates, John Benjamin, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that, ”I was delighted to have participated in the examination; though it was a little bit tough, but I was able to put something down”. (NAN)
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