By FUNMILAYO ADEYEMI

No fewer than 13,700 teachers are participating in the May edition of the Teachers? Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE), conducted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).

The Acting Registrar of TRCN, Stella-Maria Nwokeocha, disclosed this in Abuja on Saturday while monitoring the exercise at the Computer-Based Test Centre of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

?We have a figure of 594 people writing at this centre. There are some other centres in other states.

?All together, we are looking at about 13,700 participants,? she said.

Nwokeocha explained that reports from centres across the country indicated a hitch-free exercise.

?The reports we have indicated that they have completed the exams without any problem. We have not had any negative reports at the moment,? she said.

The Acting Registrar, however, disclosed that the examination was shifted in some states due to the rescheduled Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

?This examinations continues tomorrow, because of the JAMB issue. We have to shift the dates for those in Lagos and the South East.

?Some of them will be writing tomorrow, being Sunday, and in Enugu, they will be writing on Wednesday,? Nwokeocha said.

It would be recalled that JAMB rescheduled the 2025 UTME for over 300,000 candidates, after a review of results revealed that a technical glitch had affected results from 157 Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres in parts of Lagos, Anambra, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, and Enugu states.

On his part, Chairman, TRCN Governing Board, Dr Saliu Mustapha, commended the smooth conduct of the examination and the large turnout of participants.

Mustapha, who is also the National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the examination was a critical step towards sanitising the teaching profession.

?We are trying to make this IT-driven. We want to see that we have a database where all teachers will be found. As time goes on, we may have to make it public.

?By doing so, parents can verify on the platform of the TRCN. If a teacher is registered and qualified to teach and mentor their children or not.

?A parent can do the verification in order to hold teachers accountable and the schools, especially in private schools where there are allegations of unqualified teachers,? he said

Mustapha said the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, had launched an IT-driven platform where all these processes would be integrated.

Ismaila Adiatu, who represented Alausa at the event, also expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the examination.

Dr Jacinta Ezeahurukwe, Director, Certification and Licensing of TRCN, assured that the PQE results would be released in a week time.

Ezeahurukwe called for improved funding for the Council to enable it tackle operational challenges effectively. (NAN)

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