Delta State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Chief Patrick Ukah, has expressed satisfaction that Delta State was rated as one of the highest in the country in the area of compliance with over 45,000 teachers already registered with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria out of which 15,000 have been licensed.

Chief Ukah, who was reacting to the address of the state Coordinator of the Council, Chief Lazarus Eze, when he led members of his staff to the Commissioners’ office, assured the Council that the state will continue to sustain its leading compliance by ensuring that more teachers register with the Council in a bid to enhance their professionalisation, adding that the ministry under his watch had been carrying out consistent interfacing with teachers in the state through periodic monitoring activities.

The Commissioner noted that there was need to encourage more people to embrace teaching profession, stressing that this is not the best time to ask unregistered teachers to go, instead, they should be encouraged to do the necessary examinations that will qualify them to be licensed as the state needs more qualified teachers.

Chief Ukah said that the 1,000 teachers employed by Okowa administration in 2019 were strictly qualified teachers with a minimum of first degree in Education and pledged the state government’s cooperation with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria.

While saying that the Ministry would review its data base to ascertain which sector recorded the highest compliance with the registration in the state, Ukah called for all hands to be deck in tackling examination malpractice in schools.

Earlier, Chief Eze informed the Commissioner that the purpose of their visit was to familiarise with the ministry and also intimate the Commissioner with the activities of the Council in the state.

Chief Eze stated that the Council was charged with the responsibility of registering and licensing qualified teachers, adding that in Delta State, a total of 45,000 teachers had been registered out of which 15,000 had been issued licences.

He commended stakeholders in the state for the unprecedented compliance of the state in the registration and licensing of teachers, adding that the Council was registering teachers directly until 2017 when the Professional Qualifying Examination was introduced, just as he particularly stated that Delta State had been rated very high in compliance with the registration.

The State Coordinator, who decried lack of teachers’ commitment to the examination, maintained that some of them were finding it difficult to pass the examination after some attempts.

•PHOTO: Commissioner Patrick Ukah (L) with visiting Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria State Coordinator, Chief Lazarus Eze

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