The Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) is set to organize a two-day conference to address the challenges of the shortage of teachers and the professional skills gap in the country.
Acting Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of TRCN, Dr. Stella-Maria Nwokeocha, at a media briefing in preparation for the 4th Annual Online Conference of Registered Teachers in Nigeria scheduled to be held on October 16-17 2024 in Abuja, said the challenges have a global dimension as reported in the 2024 United Nations report.
She said Nigeria as the “Giant of Africa”, even in matters of education, has a huge share of the teacher shortage and needs to continuously update the professional skills and competencies of teachers along the lines identified by these evolving global concerns.
“The conference is a special response to the emerging global continental and national issues of interest to the teaching profession and education in Nigeria.
“The conference is directly linked to international concerns which are expected to deal with strategies for quality teaching and lifelong learning; national and international best practices in continuous professional upskilling of teachers especially with respect to knowledge, skills, attitudes, conduct, and orientation of teachers,” she said.
According to her, the two-day conference will also aim at addressing the implementation of professional development [PD] credits in advancing teachers along the career stages: and institutionalization of the community of practice [COP] within the teaching profession in Nigeria; as well as fostering of collaborative learning; among others.
The conference has the theme: “Advancing Teacher Professionalization in Nigeria Towards Education 2030: Challenges, Strategies and Prospects”.
She said over 3, 000 persons have registered, and the number is expected to grow further, stressing that the Conference will be streamed live on TRCN social media handles and those of UNESCO Nigeria which has greatly provided the technical support.
“TRCN will also set up viewing centers across the FCT, Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Lagos, Oyo, and other states where teachers may be willing to assemble and participate. Registration and participation are free for all, and by participating, a teacher will earn 25 PD credits as part of the requirements for renewing his or her teaching license.
“The conference is for both teachers at primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions from across the country,” she said
Dr. Nwokeocha said that given the challenges, the Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, had set up a High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession, which released its report and recommendations this year, 2024.
“The report confirmed a dramatic shortage of teachers worldwide and the existence of millions of teachers who lack the support, skills, and continuing training they need to meet the demands of rapidly changing education systems,” she added.
She added that the conference is in line with the recommendations that called for further action to address some of the serious challenges in the teaching profession that pertain to pre-service teacher education and continuous professional development.
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