From Oladele Oge
The Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has inducted 308 graduands of the College of Education, Nsukka, comprising Professional Diploma in Education (PDE) and Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE), into the teaching profession.
At the fourth induction ceremony held recently, the Registrar and Chief Executive of TRCN, Prof Addison Mark Wokocha, said induction remains imperative in any Teachers’ Training Institute as it improves the quality of both teachers and teaching in the country.
Wokocha who was represented at the occasion by the Deputy Director, Professional Operations, Mr. Adamu Bello, also said that induction confers legal and professional status on new teachers through the administration of the teachers’ oath of allegiance and other provisions of TRCN Act Cap T3 of 2004.
“Like every other profession, induction reduces the negative tendencies confronting the teaching profession. This implies that it is only those that are really prepared to improve on the educational system in the country, that should be entrusted with the teaching-learning process in the nation’s schools”, he said.
He disclosed that the national benchmark for the professional qualifying examination has been developed by TRCN, pointing out that the examination would soon commence. The teachers’ regulatory body, he said, was poised to ensure that priority attention was given to the professionalization of the teaching profession, despite efforts by some state government to establish TC II, emphasizing that NCE remains the minimum qualification for teaching in Nigeria.
He commended the management of the college for toeing the line of the TRCN by working towards the production of quality teachers that have intellectual abilities to compete with their counterparts in other countries of the world. He described the college as a pacesetter in the training of teachers.
He, therefore, urged the inductees to be good ambassadors of their alma mater, adding that they should remain committed and honest in all their endeavours, especially as they move into the field of teaching.
Earlier in an address, the provost of the college, Dr. Okwudili Nwosu, urged the regulatory body to adopt strategies that would help beginners in teaching profession to develop and grow in the art of teaching and learning.
He noted that in developed countries such as Japan, Switzerland and New Zealand, teachers are assigned “guiding teachers”, who closely monitor their teaching. “It is worthwhile for us to study how new teachers are inducted in these countries, understand their similarities and differences, and draw out effective practices to see how they could be relevant to us as we implement our own improvements”, Dr. Nwosu said.
The provost added that teaching is a learning profession, stressing that at the heart of quality education is the teacher, who should be properly harnessed and packaged to meet the challenges of his or her professional demands.
In an induction lecture entitled, “The working condition of the Teachers is the learning condition of the Learner”, delivered by Lawrence Okwudili Eya, a Professor of Educational Management, College of Science, Technology and Education, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State. He observed that teachers discharge their assigned duties when their working condition is favourable, noting that a teacher can only give what he or she has, but more readily when motivated.