The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has uncovered 250 forged teaching certificates during a recruitment exercise involving about 1,000 prospective teachers in an unnamed state.
The Registrar and Chief Executive of TRCN, Dr Ronke Soyombo, disclosed this on Thursday, November 12, while monitoring the ongoing computer-based Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) at Redeemer’s TEAP International School in Abuja.
She said the discovery highlighted the need for stricter measures to verify teachers’ qualifications and prevent individuals with fraudulent credentials from gaining employment in schools.
To address the problem, Soyombo announced that the council had introduced certificates embedded with Quick Response (QR) codes, which allow employers to authenticate applicants’ credentials directly through the TRCN portal before recruitment.
She also disclosed that the council had introduced randomised examination questions tailored to candidates’ academic qualifications to discourage malpractice among PhD, first-degree and Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) holders.
According to her, the Federal Government is targeting 75 per cent teacher licensing by the end of 2026, while all teachers are expected to be certified before entering classrooms by December 2027.
Soyombo stressed that possessing a first-class degree alone does not qualify an individual to teach, noting that teachers must also demonstrate competence in teaching methods, child safeguarding and digital literacy.
She further revealed that previous qualifying examinations exposed significant weaknesses in mathematics among teachers, prompting the council to plan targeted training interventions with relevant education agencies.
The registrar urged prospective teachers to shun examination malpractice and fraudulent practices, saying the council would sustain its efforts to protect the quality of education in Nigeria.
