The federal government has insisted that secondary schools must ensure their teachers have the proper certification, unless the schools will no longer be allowed to serve as examination centres.

The new directive, was contained in a memo issued on Thursday by the minister of education, Tunji Alausa, to the registrar/chief executive of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).

Mr Alausa said this directive was in line with government policy to strengthen professionalism in the teaching profession.

He said that from 2027, accreditation of both public and private secondary schools for the conduct of public examinations, including WASSCE, NABTEB, NECO and NBIAS, would be strictly tied to teachers’ TRCN certification.

“Accordingly, 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 said.

Mr Alausa also indicated in the memo that state governments are requested to take due cognisance of the directive.

He urged state government to put in place necessary measures to ensure compliance by all teachers in state-owned secondary schools and private secondary schools within the stipulated two years from the date of the policy directive.

“Compliance with this 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,” he said.

However, in order to afford the ease of compliance, he urged teachers who are non-education graduates but possessed not less than 12 months of classroom teaching experience to enrol in the National Teachers Institute.

The minister said that the affected teachers could qualify for the abridged professional certification programme offered through the National Teachers Institute (NTI).

The programme, he said, consisted of short professional courses lasting between three months and 6 months, after which participants would qualify for TRCN registration and licensing.

He urged those concerned to give the directive the highest priority and ensure wide sensitisation of stakeholders across the country so as to avoid disruption of accreditation for public examinations.

(NAN)