The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) says it has uncovered 250 fake teaching certificates during a recruitment exercise, prompting the rollout of QR-coded certificates and strict digital verification.

TRCN’s registrar, Ronke Soyombo, said the move was to flush out quacks from Nigerian classrooms.

Ms Soyombo disclosed this while monitoring the ongoing computer-based Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) at the Redeemer’s TEAP International School, Abuja, on Thursday.

The TRCN chief said the council discovered a recruitment process in which an unidentified state sought to employ about 1,000 teachers. She warned that forged credentials posed a grave threat to the nation’s education standards.

To curb the circulation of fake certificates, she explained that TRCN now issues certificates embedded with QR codes that link employers directly to the council’s portal for instant authentication before recruitment.

Ms Soyombo added that the council had equally tightened examination integrity by deploying randomised, qualification-differentiated questions so that PhD, first-degree and Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) holders sitting beside one another cannot engage in malpractice.

Beyond weeding out unqualified personnel, Ms Soyombo noted that the government set a strict deadline to ensure 75 per cent of teachers are licensed by the end of 2026, and 100 per cent certified before entering any classroom by December 2027.

Ms Soyombo also disclosed that previous PQE assessments exposed widespread weaknesses in mathematics among teachers nationwide, prompting the council to design targeted training interventions with relevant education agencies.

She noted that the council’s digital reforms had boosted registration from 13,000 in May 2025 to 26,000 in November 2025, with 21,000 candidates currently writing the 2026 examination nationwide and expecting digital results within one week.

Ms Soyombo urged candidates to shun malpractice and fraudulent shortcuts, reiterating that TRCN would sustain its digital clampdown to protect Nigerian schoolchildren and elevate teaching standards.

(NAN)